Author Note: Hello everyone, I know I'm supper late with the update but guess what? I have the final three chapters for you to read all at once. Yes, you heard me all three chapters all at once. To sum everything up I began to write as I was moving into my apartment and it took a while to get everything in order and after that there were some strange things happening with the mail between Iasha and me. Mail went lost and with them the beta-ed chapters. We don'e know what happened but we send some mail that didn't come forth. But it finally solved itself today. As a final side note, I just want to add that this is the 90th chapter I have written in the Naruto fandom. I think that is a cause for celebration too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Pairings: Sasuke x Naruto. Itachi x Yue.

Warning: This is mainly a shounen-ai story. Boy loves boy. Some violence that might need some rating and the lunatic Nuriko.

Read, Enjoy and Review. All feedbacks of encouragement, joy, happiness and constructive criticism are welcome.

Music In My Heart
By Monkan

Part 21 of 23

Three days passed since Naruto's confession of love and much had happened in those three days. So much that it felt longer than just three days. During the three days Naruto had told Sasuke about his visit to Dr. Tsunade and everything it involved with his eyes. They had talked long and last about all the possibilities if Naruto's vision returned. They talked about their future and things that Naruto couldn't do as long as his eyes were as they were right now. Iruka seemed to fuss over him more than usual and there were even a new spring in his steps, as if the hope in him had been lit anew.

Naruto visited the hospital for the check-up and some tests before the operation could take place. Sasuke attended school as little as possible now a day, but just enough not to draw attention to him for skipping class. He felt that his grades wouldn't fall if he wasn't there all the time. His friends at school was more worried about him than ever since he only talked to them in school now a day and it had been almost six months since he last spent a day after school with them. He didn't chare with them details about what he did after school or his parents accident.

Thanks to that rumours had started to circulate. Some were more vulgar than the rest and some were even farther from the truth than it seemed. Some were closer than they knew. He wasn't the same person from six months ago.

He had changed.

Ever since Naruto had said he loved him, everything felt different. It was like he was lighter and floated around. It was no longer a one-sided love. Even though his parents condition worried him and he was nervous about Naruto's operation he still felt very happy.

He heard the clock ring and the day ended. He put his book back in his bag at the same moment he swung it over his shoulder and walked out the door. The halls were filled with relieved students that were now on their way home. He absentmindedly listened to some of the conversations around him, never before, until this day, had he felt like one of the other teenagers his age. He too had some place else to go and... he was in love.

He left in the flow of students, he took of in the opposite direction to his house, just as he had done for almost six months now. The road didn't feel so long anymore, in fact there were something inside him that made the distance seem all to short. He walked by the others and still he could feel the eyes of others upon his back. The girls dreamily stared after him, and giggled when a gush of wind played with his hair. He rarely paid them attention before but now... he noticed them.

It wasn't that he cared about the ego it would normally give a guy to have girls awed by him but now he understood them. He had felt like that too when he gazed upon Naruto wether the other was aware of it or not.

His legs took him down a side road and continued down it, lost in his thoughts. Naruto probably didn't know it but he was quiet handsome too, more cute actually than beautiful but the charm the blond had was something few had and he wasn't even aware of it. He paid little less than normal attention to his appearance but still there were this charm about him that could pull you to him.

If Naruto had had a normal life, with his parents, gone to school, had more friends, fallen in love more, more active and alive than he was now. He probably could had been compared to the sun. Others would be drawn to him...

Somehow... that thought really pissed him off and made him jealous.

"What the..." Sasuke muttered out aloud and stopped for a moment. He shook his head and started to walk again. "When did I become jealous?"

-o-o-o-o-

"What did you say?" Itachi questioned the doctors.

"Just as I said." the grey haired old man said where he sat on the other side of the desk.

Itachi turned around and stared a moment out the window. "Do you ask me... us to give up all hope?"

"No," the man said with a sigh, "I do not ask you to give up, but to think about this. Your parents may have a chance to live but not as long as they stay here. Our resources are limited and we are short on personal. It would be better if they were moved to a hospital with greater resources, unfortunately the one I can recommend is far away and your family will have to move."

Itachi glared at the doctor. "Do you have any idea of what this means to us." he hissed through clenched teethes, "You're asking us to move away from everything. Your asking me to take my little brother away from everything he has known and everyone he loves." he took a deep breath and shook his head, "You're mental."

"I know that its a lot that I'm asking of you but you should all be there with your parents when they recover. It's a miracle that they have survived the accident and with the recent turn around toward good recovery for them we must do everything we can for them. Unfortunately, if they were to take a turn toward the worse I'm afraid that we maybe not be able to do much for them. This hospitals budget are already cut short this year and the medical care isn't a job young people dream about." the doctor stood up with both his hands in his desk, a look of urgency in his eyes. "I beg you, consider this option and move them to a better hospital."

Itachi stared at the man. He knew it would probably be for the best but would it be best for Sasuke to pull him with them? Yue would always be with him, he had no doubt about that but Sasuke would have to leave Naruto behind. Could he do that? Ask his little brother to give up love for their family? To leave Sasuke behind wouldn't be an option, who knew how long it will take their parents to recover. Even if he remained the responsibility would be to great. He wasn't ready for it yet. He couldn't leave him alone in their big house, not again. Never again. He wouldn't allow it. He had managed to come closer to Sasuke than he ever had, he had managed to break through the ice and to drag him with them would create a crack between them that would never mend.

"Let me think about it." Itachi whispered as he turned to leave the office.

"Don't think to long, the sooner the better." the old man said. "The Uchiha is one of the wealthiest and most famous families in Konoha. You will always be welcomed where ever you go. Its the right thing to do."

"Yeah," Itachi whispered, "But does that make me heartless?"

Itachi was out through the door without a sound. His thoughts raced through his head but at the same time they seemed awfully calm.

Could he do it? Could he make Sasuke leave Naruto behind? Were there another option? Could he bring Naruto with them? Shatter Iruka's family? Why did life have to be so cruel?

-o-o-o-o-

Naruto looked up, he thought that he heard something but when he listened carefully there were nothing. He wiped a tear from his eye and went back to the book. He was just a few pages from the end of the book and he was already in tears. The bittersweet feeling in his heart bit hard and he wanted to go into the world of the book and make things right.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he turned around swiftly, his hand searching the area around him but found only air. His eyes had decided today to rest so all he saw was black. For several minutes Naruto sat there and waited in silence. Nothing. He sighed and closed the book after putting the marker between the pages. Reading the book had made him a little jumpy.

He stood up and took the single step to the edge between the wall and his desk, his hand reached down to grasp... nothing. Naruto was confused, he was sure that he had put his violin there but he couldn't find it. Naruto went down on his knees and he started to search for it on his hands and knees. He didn't find it.

"Did I leave it on my bed instead?" Naruto mussed. It wouldn't be the first time he mistakenly placed it somewhere else but when he did so was rare. He crawled on all four over to the bed and he sat back on his knees while his hands searched his bed. Nothing. He came into contact only with the fabric of his cover.

Naruto started to get nervous. Had he placed it somewhere that he wasn't aware of it? Was his condition getting more serious than he was aware? The thoughts raced through his head. He had thought that playing his violin would ease his mind a little but now he couldn't find it. His uneasiness grew stronger as a shiver went down his spine. He looked around.

"Hello?" he called. "Is some one there?" he helped himself up on his feet, "Sasuke?" he asked.

A sound from the lower level drew his attention. "Sasuke?" he asked again as he walked over to the door. It stood open, had he left it open? Or had Iruka did it before leaving for work? He walked out into the hall and over to the stair. Even though he was used to be blind and see little to nothing it still felt like the shadows were closing in on his mind.

He slowly walked down the steps on the stairs, taking one careful step at the time. "Sasuke?" he called again when he was half-way down.

-o-o-o-o-

Sasuke stood on the sidewalk outside Naruto's house. He was getting an eerie feeling. He was about to walk up to it when something caught his attention in the grass. He walked over to it instead and stared down on the remains of the frame he had given Naruto. Something began to gnaw inside of him. He picked up the picture and stared at it. It was him, when he was little, barely two years, dressed up in a dress with hair decorations and all, just like a girl. His first thought was to why Naruto had this picture. He was certain that it was hidden deepest among all his private photos. He turned it over and saw the handwriting of his brother.

He was about to curse his brother when a sudden dread filled him. A handful of fear filled him and he dropped the picture and his bag and ran to the front door. He slammed it open and when he saw everything he screamed at the top of his lungs;

"NARUTO, DUCK."

Naruto, who only suddenly heard Sasuke's fearful voice scream two words followed what he was told and swiftly went down crouching. The sound of wood hitting that wall and shattering filled his ears and he could feel the pieces fall over him. Fear filled him, someone was behind him. Someone that had tried to hurt him.

He was suddenly shoved in the back and he fell forward. He would had landed on the floor with pain shooting through his body if it wasn't that someone caught him before he hit the floor. There were a grunt beneath him and this close to his rescuer he could tell who it was.

"Sasuke."

"I'm all right." whispered Sasuke as he sat up, holding Naruto close.

"Why?" a voice asked that didn't belong to either of them spoke. It was furious. "You are mine?"

"Stop it." Sasuke pleaded. This close Naruto could feel that not only Sasuke's hands were trembling but also his heart were beating rapidly. Who ever was after to hurt him scared Sasuke.

"I told you, you are mine." the voice continued, "No one will take you away from me."

"Stop it Nuriko." Sasuke pleaded. He stared wide eyed at her as she came closer to them, the remains of the violin handle in her hand. Like it was a weapon she raised it and prepared to hit Naruto when she was close enough but Sasuke who realized that she was going to kill Naruto dragged his beloved up and away from the threat.

Naruto, confused and disoriented felt how his thigh hit the edge of something as he was pulled aside. He bumped into something else and all the time he felt Sasuke's trembling hands holding him. He was scared and he had no idea of who was after them or why. He felt Sasuke's arms around him as he was trying to get his bearings back together. Everything seemed to be a big void. He had no idea where he was or what was in front of him. All he could hear was the voice of the girl and Sasuke as he defended them.

"Why can it never be me?" Nuriko asked furiously. "I do everything for you, Sasuke-kun."

"No." the dark haired teen said, he had no idea what to do. He was scared witless, his old scars had been torn open but he knew that if he didn't do anything the past would repeat itself. He would lose Naruto, and that was something he wasn't going to allow. He wouldn't be able to handle losing Naruto. So although he was shaking like a leaf on the inside he tried to remain calm and protect Naruto.

"I love you Sasuke-kun but I can't allow this boy to live on. He taints you. He ruins you. You are so much more greater than he can ever be."

"No." Sasuke said. "He doesn't taint me, its you that ruins my life."

"It's not true. All I've ever done was out of love for you." Nuriko said, with an edge of pleading in her voice.

Her voice sounded innocent, almost child-like but her eyes spoke of anything but malice. When she saw Naruto gripping for Sasuke for support her eyes clouded with more darkness and she lost it. She flung herself at them with the sharp remains of Naruto's violin high in the air.

Sasuke made a fast decision and pushed Naruto aside.

It felt like he was tumbling into darkness and landed on the wooden floor. He cried out Sasuke's name as the sound around him came at him all at once. There were a loud crash, outrageous screams, glass shattering and finally a bang that was closely followed by the sound of someone falling to the ground.

Naruto panicked as the silence followed. He looked around and desperately tried to make out anything. His panting breath echoed in his ears.

"Sasuke? Sasuke?" he called as he reached out for anything. He gasped when his hand was suddenly caught by someone.

"Naruto." whispered Sasuke. Strong arms embraced him then and Naruto froze for a moment, shock holding him still. "Naruto." Sasuke whispered in his ear and only then did Naruto remember to breath and he relaxed into the embrace. His own arms coming up to hold onto Sasuke.

"It's over." said Sasuke. "She can't hurt you anymore." he needed the reassurence just as much as Naruto. Sasuke looked around the mess and the unconscious girl on the floor. He felt like throwing up. "Come on."

He lead his blind beloved out from the house and into the fresh cold air. He sat Naruto down carefully in the frozen grass.

His hand was trembling as he tried to pick up his cell-phone to call the police. Eventually after some trying he was talking to an officer but his vocal cord wouldn't comply and his words were really cut short.

"Yeah, she's out cold in the house... Crazy... Tried to kill... The address...The house north of...Yeah, out front... Hurry... don't know when she'll... ok..."

There were thump beside Sasuke that drew his attention and he glanced next to him and he dropped his cell-phone in fear.

Next to his feet laid Naruto, unconscious.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." Sasuke fell to his knees beside him. He picked up Naruto's body in his arms, the blonds head lolled back like a rag dolls. "Don't do this to me. Not now."

But he got no response from the other teen.

Somewhere, in the background he was vaguely aware of the sounds of sirens. Help were on the way but the world shrunk down around him and his ear filled with a white noise as he stared down at Naruto's expressionless face.

Tbc.