Mah, I also decided to give you guys a lil' plant education. Not that I'm saying anyone is wrong! But I think knowledge is a good tool and knowing your facts perfectly straight will help you in the future! I took some Horticulture in high school so I know at least my basic facts.
First off, Naru isn't a herm or even genderless. He IS a male plant. You might be confused, because yes, flowers are supposed have both male and female parts. BUT, there are also such things as "imperfect" plants, which are born with either one gender or the other. Or sometimes none at all. Naruto would be classified as an imperfect plant with only the stamen intact, or his manparts still there basically. And as for Naruto's 'opening', which many of you may thought was his female part, that was just actually his anus. Sorry you mpreg fans, I don't discriminate the support for it but I don't write it. I tried once, but it turned ugly with a bunch of rude and negative comments, so I decided not to do so ever again.
Anyways, jeje, hope that clears a few things up!
Also...I'm going to warn you guys now. This chapter is...VERY sad. I was looking up possible ailments for plants and I found one that would suit my needs perfectly, but applying the treatments to this story...well, let's just say that I'll have warnings in case you wanna pass over it. It's not pretty.
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"Naruto? What's wrong??"
Sasuke immediately ran over to the shivering blond, staring worriedly at the flushed, but weakly grinning face.
"Naruto isn't feeling very good.." he murmured quietly, closing his eyes to rest as a cool hand touched his burning forehead. The Uchiha was checking his temperature, and to his alarm the plan-boy's skin was at feverish temperatures. Why was he in such a condition? What had happened? Trying to keep a calm face to not worry the sick boy, he murmured quietly, "is there anything I can get you?"
"W...water..would be nice."
Sasuke nodded, hurrying off to his kitchen to do so, also grabbing a thermometer and a makeshift ice-pack in the process, thoughts running through his head. He seemed just just fine when the man left earlier that morning. Damnit, and who knew how long the plant-boy had been in such a state. Coming back with a quick pace, he knelt down again, trying not to wince as the ragged breaths coming from the other. He helped the boy with the drink, carefully tilting the glass so that nothing would spill. When all of it was gone, the thermometer was gently placed underneath the pasty tongue. He waited not so patiently, rubbing the green tinted arm as he did so.
After about a minute, he pulled it back to him, reading the verdict in his mind. 106.3 F?? That couldn't be good, although since Naruto wasn't exactly human that level temperature might not have been as hazardous than to humans. Still, he would have been a fool to take it lightly. He pulled the blanket off of the shivering, protesting figure and placed the cold pack to rest against the clammy forehead.
Naruto tried to reach for the blankets, but they were held away. The whine that came from him was so weak, so pleading. "Sasuke, Naruto is cold..."
"No, you have a high fever, Naru. We have to bring it down a bit, ok? I'm sorry..." He really hated to deprive his lover of anything, but he had to try and lower the temperature.The boy was obviously hallucinating the heat, which was a strong suggestion that this high fever was indeed harmful. Carefully he sat down on his knees, inspecting the changes in the blond's appearance he couldn't catch before. The usually light green skin seemed a little pale, and the tendrils that were usually at least moving freely were limp and hanging over the pot, immobile. It was highly possible that it was a plant based illness, and if that was the case Sasuke wasn't sure if chemicals or medicines could, or even would be a remedy.
But...there was no way sitting here and doing nothing was going to help. Cursing quietly to himself, he slowly sat up, forcing a smile when those tired eyes glanced over at him. "Naruto, I have to go get some medicine. Just take it easy and rest, alright?"
Not waiting for an answer, the young man left, determined to go find an all night drug store. He had never believed in God, but at that moment he was hoping that some higher power would understand and save his Naruto from whatever this was.
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The elder brother had frowned, taking in the sight before him. "This plant of yours never fails to amaze me."
Itachi had come over after Sasuke refused to come into work. He wasn't sure what to expect, but a nude plant-boy Naruto who was sick with fever was the last thing on his mind as a possibility. Still, he remained calm and examined the boy himself, taking in careful details. Just because he wasn't exactly a botanist didn't mean he was lacking experience.
"Sasuke...I think you'd better take a look at this."
No...no, that wasn't what the younger man needed to hear. Words of encouragement, or positive news. Not, 'you better take a look at this.' That was never, ever good. He stopped his pacing, chest tight with worry. He moved to stand next to his brother, chiding himself for being a coward and finally glancing down to what exactly his brother was getting at, something he didn't notice before. One of Naruto's tendrils was in his hand, shriveled slightly with the color darker and dull. But that wasn't the most disturbing part. The end of the small vine almost seemed to be turning pasty white.
He let out a shaky breath. "Itachi, can you hand me a pair of gloves?"
Naruto was quiet as the two helped each other out. Sasuke's covered fingers pressed against the infected part of the vine, which was now firm instead of relaxed. But he did whimper as Sasuke went lower on the vine, near where it first started to come out of the dirt. It ached, very badly. As if it wasn't meant to be touched.
Sasuke had pressed there because as he moved closer to the pot, he noticed the bases of other tendrils were starting to have effect. Although instead of white it was a dark, nasty shade of brown, similar to when bananas expire. As he pressed there, he didn't know whether to be alarmed at how mushy the tissue was, or the hidden cry of pain his lover held back. The botanist grimaced, stomach lurched at the signs. He knew of what this was, immediately.
"It...looks like root rot."
Itachi kneeled closer, inspecting the damage closely. carefully pressing as well and frowning when another whimper erupted. Taking his fingers away the elder man sighed gently, glancing over at the shocked man. "Well, can we get him some pesticides or-"
"That...won't work." Sasuke swallowed a bit, whispering fervently to his brother, not wanting to upset Naruto. "Once a plant shows signs of the rot, it's too late."
"So you're giving up? Just like that?"
"No!" That wasn't the case. He so badly wanted to help Naruto, wanted to take this away. But Itachi didn't understand what was going on between the two. The younger Uchiha knew that it hadn't really sunk in yet. It was hard to believe Naruto even caught root rot,a lthough considering he had been exposed to the heavy rainfall that one time on his office roof, he could guess that's where it first started.But even if he didn't want to believe it, he was afraid that if he tried too hard his efforts would be in vain-- and then the guilt would only increase. He didn't know if he could handle trying to save his little lover and then have him end up dying with all efforts in vain.
And, in all honesty, he didn't know if he even could help. It was true the rot hadn't really progressed yet, but in order to try and treat it, he would have to change to clean soil, which was perfectly fine. But then he also had to cut away the infection. It would have been fine if it was just a normal plant. But Naruto...Naruto felt pain, could feel pain. There was no way he could do so, knowing that his plant-boy would be injured as well.
But, if he didn't, he could die...so what the fuck was he going to do?
"Sasuke..." the blond's soft voice came over his conflicting thoughts, and he pushed them momentarily aside to kneel down next to him, rubbing the pale cheek gently. Those blue eyes opened, hazy eyes boring into his own. "What is...wrong with Naruto?" Though the voice was weak, it was also firm. He could read in between the lines. Naruto wanted to know, and he wanted to know the full extent. No softening the blow.
He took in a deep breath. "Naruto...you have root rot. It's a fungus that's slowly causing your tissue to decay, and your body is trying to fight it off, which can probably explain the fever. With normal sized plants, it would normally take up to ten days...but..."
"Is there...something Sasuke can do?"
"No." The scientist closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to do this. "The treatment may not even work, and it is out of the question-"
"Sasuke.." Itachi frowned quietly, sensing his distress, but continuing anyways. "Naruto...has the right to know."
At that moment, he hated his brother. It was a pointless hate, but it was something to vent his anguish and frustration out on. Bowing his head and trying to find courage to speak. It came out bitter. "The only way that I could possibly save you...is if...I were to remove the infected areas. It would be as if...I would be cutting off part of your body..."
Saying that, he felt foolish. He felt angry at himself, angry at the unchanging laws of nature, angry at those damn little fungi killing off his blond.
There was nothing to say at the moment, the cold impact of the words leaving a disturbed quiet over the three. Naruto, damnit, he actually looked thoughtful. There was nothing to think about, there was no way he could agree. Sasuke's fists clenched. Why was his heart pounding so hard? And damnit, why Naruto- he was not supposed to be thinking about this, he was supposed to say no. There was no way...
"I...trust you Sasuke."
His rapid heart seemed to spot at that, and he stared down into those beautiful clear eyes. There was no hesitation or regret. Only...an emotion he knew so well. So very well. He let his fingers loose, and his heart was slowly sinking into the angry pit of his stomach.
"I understand...I have to doa few things then..." he choked, for a second, "Itachi, will you help me?"
A firm nod was his anger, and Sasuke stood up, quickly turning away from the other two presences in the room, heading to go grab the things he could need. He wanted to get this over with quickly. But he excused himself to the bathroom first, knowing that he needed a few moments to stop the tears streaming from his eyes. He could cry now, and after...but he couldn't do it during the surgery. He had to be focused.
And so he cried then instead, so hard to make up for the next few hours.
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(A/N: Alright guys, this is the part where things get ugly. Yes, Sasuke is going to operate on Naruto. If you can't stand the drama or violence related to...well, amputation, then the chapter ends here. There's actually not much of the actual surgery, but I feel like I should warn you anyways. If you'd like to read it to the end or feel like you can handle it, continue on.)
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Naruto blinked quietly, staring at the needle that was currently being stuck into his arm. "What's that?" He asked quietly.
"It's a tranquilizer. I'm afraid I don't have anything for the pain...but this will at least keep you calm and sedate as possible." The needle was carefully pulled out, and Sasuke discarded it on the makeshift tool table, glancing up at Itachi who was ready with gauze and what looked like a large knife. There was a flame lit in the fireplace near them, well in size and ready to serve its purpose.
He glanced quietly down at the large, disinfected and shiny handsaw he had in his hand. And knew if he kept staring at the teeth of the blade, he would be too repulsed to continue. Instead he focused on the root system laid out in front of him, large towels underneath it to help prevent unnecessary mess. He had removed Naruto's pot and soil earlier and sterilized that too, scrubbing it down until he left satisfied there was no more of the contaminated dirt on the pot. He also cleaned off any part of Naruto's body that had been in the dirt, and skin close enough to it.
The new pot, ready with new soil, sat forgotten in the corner of the room now. That part was the easiest. Now, as he stared at the damage of the decay and silently mapping out where he would need to...amputate...he realized this was going to be rough, even if his stoic face didn't show it.
But he couldn't keep the soft look from his face as he leaned over to the blond's head, which was currently resting against a fluffy pillow, gently ruffling his hair and pulling out the last tool they needed. It was a simple piece of cylindracil wood, two ties on each end. "If you feel any pain, you need to...bite down on this, Naru. "
He didn't want to explain, and he was glad no questions came up. His fingers trembled as he slipped the device into the boy's mouth, gently tying it to fit snugly around the boy's face so it held in place. Pulling away from those swimming pools of blue, he heaved out a shaky sigh, glancing over at his brother and relived to see that at least the stoic mask was gone, and he looked genuine concerned and determined to help. "Itachi, put on some gloves. I'll need you to heat up that knife now. Make sure it stays nice and hot."
The man went to to his task and the botanist pulled on his own gloves, amazed that they were so still now even though they wavered seconds ago. He glanced up, a final time, at Naruto, who didn't look frightened at all. Merely..uneasy. But, a smile formed around the gag notheless, and he took that as a sign to continue. There was no going back now.
He took the saw in his hand, silently deciding to start with the smaller roots. Not only would those be easier to treat immediately after, it would...help Naruto ease in. Checking to make sure he had enough towels underneath one last time, he grabbed a random tendril that seemed about as thick as a baseball bat, and placed the edges of the teeth against the imaginary line he knew where to cut.
And with a final breath, he started, rocking the blade back and forth into the tender flesh. He felt something inside him tense as a pained gasp was heard. The tranquilizers had been a good idea in the end, he could almost feel the way the body wanted to thrash. Thick blue blood immediately began pouring from it, but he didn't take the time to study it. Because the vine was so thin, it didn't take him long to get all the way through, and it came away easily, Sasuke immediately placing the now disconnected vine on another cushion of towels nearby.
Itachi had come back just in time, and as he knelt down and brandished the red hot blade he already knew what to do. Without any hesitation, he immediately pressed the flat of the blade against the still bleeding flesh, singing the skin and coaxing it to shut and stop most of the bleeding. The body beneath them twitched in anguish, but it went unnoticed as Itachi set the knife down, satisfied enough to gauze up the wound tight enough to stop the rest of blood flow.
Sasuke wiped a trickle of sweat and his brow and dared a glance up at the suddenly lax body. Those eyes were glazed over and staring up at the ceiling, and from the look of the boy's lips, that bite piece was a damn good idea as well. Better that than accidentally biting off his tongue.
'Well,' Sasuke thought bitterly, placing the blade against the boy's skin once more, 'One down...'
--TBC--
Argh, please don't flame me for this. You have NO idea how hard it was for me to write this, I felt so bad. But the idea of changing the facts around so that I wouldn't have to hurt Naru doesn't seem right to me. The treatment of root rot requires infected vines to be cut away. Naruto is a plant. I stayed true to what really happens instead of making up something to 'sugarcoat' the situation.
Anyways...R/R.
