Warnings for this chapter: OOCness on Sasuke's part (again) and weird dreams and Zabuza's horribly bad language. cough

Beware, everything about this chapter isn't what it seems to be.

And by the way, I'd like to give Iruka someone to love too, since KakaIru is indeed quite usual here and I'd like to do something else. Any suggestions, who? Deidara would be good but it would be quite weird too. Hmm. Dunno.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Here's an update to you.

It took another week for Naruto to finally return back to the hospital. The blond boy sniffed, dressed in bright orange jumper, black baggy-pants and a red scarf covering his still hurting throat, as he stepped inside, pushing the heavy doors open. He smiled brightly at Izumo and Kotetsu who walked by, stopped and smiled back at him.

"Where have you been, kid? Iruka's going crazy keeping our raven boy in his cell, ya know?" Izumo said and grinned when Naruto blinked owlishly at him.

"Huh? You mean the Uchiha?" Kotetsu grinned.

"Yeah, him. Little mister Red-eye has been freaking out ever since he found out you weren't coming." Naruto blinked again. Huh? Then he couldn't help but grin back at the two friends in front of him. Soooo… the raven-haired boy had wanted to 'see' him? So it shall be then. Naruto thanked Izumo and Kotetsu and darted down the corridor, whistling as he went. But as he turned around the corner, the smile on his face faded. He heard a scream. Another. And a third and this lasted for so long that the one who was screaming, his voice almost cracked. Naruto started running towards the shouting and realized, frowning, that it was coming from the criminal yard. Oh my…what if it is… He turned around the corner and saw Iruka panicking in front of the last door of the corridor. In front of Sasuke's door.

"Uchiha-san, please calm down!" Iruka's voice sounded weak and tired, he hesitantly reached for the door to open it, but his warm brown eyes were quite scared. Of course he feared, Sasuke was insane and would probably hurt anyone who just dared to step inside the room. Naruto came closer and looked inside, his eyes widening. Sasuke stood in the middle of his room, rocking himself back and forth, raised his hands to his face and screamed again and again. Iruka sighed as he saw Naruto.

"For God's sake, where have you been!" The man frowned, but he was trembling. Naruto took the key to Sasuke's door from his hands and pushed it into the lock.

"Let me, sensei." Inside, Sasuke had stopped screaming, but he was sobbing and still scratching more bloody traces to his face. He obviously was in his own world and Naruto pitied him so much that it hurt. Iruka put his hand on his and squeezed.

"Naruto, I'm not sure –"

"Well, I am, sensei." Naruto said gently and smiled, before opening the door. The room was so dark and so small so Naruto couldn't actually see that clearly. Sasuke held his hands to his face and still was rocking back and forth, back and forth, his unseeing eyes staring into nothingness. Naruto rested his back against the door and waited for Sasuke to finally acknowledge his presence, if the mentally sick boy could…do that. Naruto didn't even notice his own sad smile on his face as he watched the other boy. He waited, when the blindfolded gaze rose and seemed to be staring right at him. Sasuke cocked his head a little, in a questioning way. Naruto nodded, although he knew Sasuke couldn't see it.

"Yeah, it's me." The blond couldn't help but be a little excited. In more closer ranch, Sasuke was so much shorter, barely reaching Naruto's nose. But the more sad thing was, that the boy was really, really skinny. You could actually almost see his ribs through the thin layers of the hospital gown. Handcuffs made a clanking sound as Sasuke reached his hands to his face again and clearly flinched when he felt warm blood.

"…Sasuke. Could I?" Naruto offered, speaking in a quiet tone, as if talking to a wounded, but dangerous animal. Well, Sasuke was wounded and dangerous…Naruto snorted. But Sasuke was human. Sasuke's hands lowered down, but he stepped back. Naruto pouted, but he stepped forward until he stood right in front of the raven boy, who just stared at him blindly, clearly not understanding what was going on. With a little hesitation, Naruto reached out his hand and touched the bloody cheek in one, gentle caress. One sigh escaped from between Sasuke's thin lips. That made Naruto smile sadly again. The other boy looked so fragile, especially with his skin being so white, reminding the sunny boy of a porcelain doll. And so easily broken.

"I pity you." Naruto said quietly and let his hand low down. Sasuke flinched again and stepped back again.

"…no…" One word escaped from him and Naruto's eyes widened.

"What?" At that same instant Sasuke's skinny arm rose and pointed straight at him.

"Go away." Raven haired boy had started to tremble furiously. This time, he fell to his knees and began tearing his beautiful hair.

"Uchi…no, Sasuke…" Naruto started but Sasuke shook his head again and again.

"Go away, you….leave me alone…leave me alone…Ani…ki…" Sasuke shivered, his voice was broken like one of a little lost child. Naruto blinked and felt kind of…awkward just standing there.

"Sasuke!" He said again, without not much of a response. Aniki? Wait…aniki…big…big…big brother? To his surprise and shock, Sasuke suddenly started screaming again, his voice thin and weak. And this time those pale, white fingers began to tear the blindfold away.

"It is you…you! Leave me alone…" Sasuke's voice lowered down to a growl.

"Just let…me…see!" He screamed again, his cold voice was now filled with impossibly strong hatred. Naruto started to panic. God, this boy was in so much pain and he suddenly didn't know what to do. He turned around to look at the little room, but saw that the door had faded into amazingly deep black night. He turned around again and as his blue eyes caught the sight of Sasuke's white face again, the eyes he met weren't black. But red. Eyes the color of deepest blood, three black spots spinning wildly around. Naruto gasped and stepped back, as Sasuke stepped forward, a low, animalistic growl emitting from his throat.

Then everything went dark.

Naruto woke up, panting, sweaty. And salty tears on his face. It took him a moment to realize that he was in his own bed and still feeling so sick. And all of that had been a…dream. Sasuke's soft but cold skin and that icy, but somehow sad and lonely voice. And those freaky red eyes…what the hell they meant, anyway? Naruto wasn't the one to believe in paranormal things or anything like that, but this was just…sounded too much like a warning. A warning that he really shouldn't go into Sasuke's room, who knew what that boy could do? But…Jesus…that was fucking scary. Naruto shook his head and put his head to his pillow again.

No need to say, but Naruto didn't get to sleep anymore that night.

The next day, when he felt a little better, he hopped on his bike and cycled to Akai Tsuki, for that mental hospital had haunted his damn dreams even when he was awake, which wasn't nice. Not nice at all. Enough said, Naruto wasn't in a good mood as he put his bike near the parking lot where there were few other bikes. But the blond just walked inside the hospital, feeling slightly annoyed at everyone and everything today.

"Hey, brat!" Speak of the devil. Naruto heard a yell as he burst through the front doors. He turned and saw another blonde walking towards him.

"Baba." Naruto couldn't help but grin at the woman, who grinned back. Tsunade might have been the number one boss, but Naruto was nothing more but a lowlife youngster, as she liked to put it. They fought from time to time, but Tsunade still was delighted to see the boy who so much reminded her of her deceased brother, making life a little easier. And Naruto had grown to like her too, although calling her old hag. Also, what was the best thing about Tsunade, was, that she understood perfectly his sympathetic feelings towards Uchiha Sasuke.

"What's up today? Has anything…exciting happened here?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Naah, not really. But the Uchiha kid…he freaks out almost every day, at everything and tries to rip the blindfold off and bang his head to the wall, gladly it's that soft material that most of mental hospitals use. We had to put a straight jacket on him, because even when it's Iruka, that kid totally looses his mind." Tsunade shrugged. Naruto sighed.

"Did he say anything weird? No, no, I'm just curious since Uchiha seems to be the only doing something interesting here." The blond smiled innocently – although the innocent look would have had more effect, if Naruto were about twenty centimetres shorter – and shrugged. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Well…if you can really call it 'saying.' He more like, screamed a lot of things, especially about some other Uchihas…and mostly, about his notorious big brother, that how he still hates him. Sometimes Sasuke-kun sounds like he still believes that his big bro's alive and that he has to kill him." Tsunade cocked her head. Weird grin appeared on his face.

"No, Naruto, he didn't mention anything else." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Ja ne!" Tsunade patted his blonde locks, turned around and started to walk down the corridor. Naruto blinked, shook his head and decided to pay the Uchiha a little visit, but a little later.

Everything was so normal in the hospital, that Naruto wondered if anyone had even noticed his absence. That thought was wiped out entirely, when other almost-sane patients welcomed him, Kurenai patted his blonde hair and Izumo grinned. And Naruto felt happy, although he had to introduce himself two times to Sasori, who suffered from short-time memory loss and always forgot everything and everyone. Naruto helped Iruka and the others to feed the patients – the blonde was so glad to see Iruka smiling a little more than he had for the few weeks that Naruto had been there. The reason for that seemed to be Deidara, the absent-minded bomber whose misdoings seemed to amuse the gentle hearted Iruka more than anyone else. After everything ordinary was done, Naruto waved his goodbyes and trotted down the corridor and around the corner to the criminal yard, again. He didn't even think what in the world was the thing that pulled him there.

As he walked by Zabuza's door, he stopped suddenly and saw that the man indeed was staring at him with intense hatred in his eyes. Naruto couldn't help but think about that one, beautiful boy – Haku, was it – and how similar he suddenly felt that Haku and Zabuza were. He grinned and by that, made the frown in Zabuza's face grow.

"It's your fucking fault, kid." The murderer said, his rough hands clasping the bars on the little window of his doors. Naruto blinked.

"Huh? What is?"

"Don't you dare." Zabuza started and showed his frighteningly, slightly pointy teeth.

"None of us can sleep well these nights anymore, because that other damn brat keeps seeing his fucking pathetic nightmares, because somebody just has to come here every goddamned day to talk rubbish!" He snarled and Naruto blinked again. Huh?

"And… please do tell me, why do you think that is my fault, huh? I'm not an idiot. You are." Naruto snapped back, shook his head and made his way towards Sasuke's door before Zabuza could say something back. Really…that one has really bad mouth.

But all his thoughts concerning Zabuza were moved away, as he arrived by the raven boy's door and sat down on the chair that Iruka had thoughtfully put there.

"Howdy." Naruto said in a rare, quiet – well, being quiet was rare to him – voice and leaned his back against the cold, hard stonewall.

"You know… I'm sorry I didn't come much earlier. I was sick, you know. Well…maybe you don't, but you do know. Or something." Naruto said and laughed a little. He could only hear soft rustling of the sheets in the small bed of the room.

"The flu can be a mean little thing sometimes. It has the worst timing ever. For the first day I felt so sick I could barely move, so I didn't. But then I got so hungry and I had to rise from my soft and sooo nice bed and get something to eat. I don't even have a roommate, damn. My last one moved away few months ago, he was surely a nice fellow, even though sometimes he got a little too friendly with me, if you get what I mean, Uchiha." Naruto felt nice. Just nice to tell somebody about his everyday life, somebody who listened – well, he thought Sasuke listened – and didn't mock him.

"And that reminds me…I have started a new hobby! Or… I will start it, as soon as I am in perfect health again. I mean, kickboxing. Hehe, I bet you're surprised! I don't really seem like a guy who'd do kickboxing, do I? But I like it, it's nice. Well, almost as nice as going to the gym and working out. I should show you sometimes how strong I am…Because I am too strong for anyone, haha." Naruto laughed a little.

"Nee, Sasuke? Have you ever eaten apple ice cream? I just tasted it yesterday, it was so good that I almost melted. Hell, I'm an average cook and ice cream is something I rarely get. I just love it, cooking and that ice cream…well, almost as much as I love ramen! Ramen's my all time favourite food. Everyone wonders how can I be so skinny and still eat so much. Well, I'm sporty as hell!" Naruto grinned to himself.

"You should taste my cooking sometimes. Kiba says it sucks, but what does that dog-lover know, too occupied with his new girlfriend and his dog. Oh, Kiba's one of my friends, almost a best one, I'd say…but I think still I'm a quite good cook, even though I can't cook so many things without help. Onigiri is certainly one, Iruka's made it few times for lunch here, it's so good. But okay, maybe not. Let's just enjoy the silence for now…I know you're surprised that I can be quiet, but yeah, I can." And Naruto fell silent and leaned more comfortably against the wall, staring at the opposite white wall without actually seeing it, floating in his own little world. And as he had said himself, he now enjoyed the silence that had first frightened him. And his mind slipped away.

And it was in that position that Iruka found him half and hour later. The pony tailed man smiled gently and didn't dare to wake the boy up, he just fetched a blanket and put it on Naruto, caressing his blonde hair. And then Iruka opened the door with a click and stepped inside. He wasn't scared, no, but something about Sasuke Uchiha made his heart grow nervous.

"Uchiha-san, it's me." Sasuke sat on his bed as usual, not even bothering to raise his blind eyes to the man. Iruka sighed, went closer and started to take off the straight jacket. He couldn't just bare to watch Sasuke in it anymore, too cruel for him. Too unfair. Sasuke just sat and sat and sat, not moving. Iruka took the cloth and watched the boy for a while, taking in the skinny – too skinny – form under the pearl-white hospital gown, bluish black hair falling down on the face too fragile to belong to the broken 17-year-old boy. Iruka shook his head, sighed again and stepped outside to the world, that was only few centimetres away from Sasuke Uchiha, the blindfolded boy, but still unreachable. Still so far.

Hahah. Gotcha! No, I'm not letting Naruto even inside Sasuke's room, not even in the near future, sorry. (Haha, it just makes me laugh every time I read a NaruSasu-fic with Sasuke being so much shorter...so I just had to make it a part of my own.)

And by the way, I may add Kimimaro here too. And as for the update…please, forgive me, I know I'm slow.

Kickboxing. Working out. That's what I like. Or would like to do. (Yeah, I had to delete this chapter and put it up again, weird. Gomen.)