Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I had quite a lengthy spell of writer's block. I, for one, blame my work schedule, but you can call me a lazy bastard if that makes you feel better. So long as you review, favorite, and follow the story, ;).
Enjoy!
She needed medicine.
Not antibiotics or morphine, nothing… nothing serious. Just painkillers — or something, anything that would help to ease the throbbing, burning pain of her wounds.
For the first time in her life, Satsuki silently wished that Kabuto was around. Slimy bastard he was, but a good medical ninja he most certainly was. She had seen him heal wounds that looked beyond fatal… he could mend bones, dress anything from scratches to limbs being torn off… his skill was beyond impressive, even if she would never tell him that. Orochimaru wanted her kept in tip-top condition, and Kabuto's loyalty to that snake and his near-unparalleled abilities meant that he was the one operating on her more often then not. Now, it wasn't that she was hurt often — but in a world where a scratch from a poisoned kunai could fell the strongest of shinobi, it was worth it to be cautious.
Satsuki inhaled deeply as she pulled on her cloak, allowing it to conceal her lithe frame; a hood was pulled over her head soon after. With her sword easily hidden beneath the cloak and her sharingan ready to be activated at a moment's notice, she was ready.
Of course, she couldn't deny the… irritation that welled up in the back of her mind. It was what, noon? He had said that he'd be here first thing in the morning! And yet, he wasn't.
But that didn't matter. He wasn't here to help her after all; all he wanted to do was drag her back to that damn village, whether she wanted to or not, whether it was best for her or not…
Satsuki shook her head. No time to be bitter — she couldn't afford to revive old feelings that had plagued her for the first few months with Orochimaru. And she had just managed to banish them from her mind, too. Damn.
The Uchiha sighed. It was time to go.
She opened up a window, eased herself through the opening and leapt down into the town, wincing all the way.
Naruto rubbed his chin, absentmindedly staring outside his window. It was somewhat cloudy, and though some of the sun's beams still shone into the room, it was considerably dimmed. Visually distinct rays hit the opposite wall, specks of dirt floating in them. His other hand supported his body weight, finger slowly rubbing back and forth across a crack in between the floorboards.
"What a dream," he pondered. "What a fucking dream." Naruto slowly shook his head, sighing.
His mind always saw fit to play games on him; as if dreams about chirping birds and the feeling of having his lung penetrated weren't enough… now, it seemed as if his brain saw fit to grant him good dreams. About her.
He'd talked to her; he could remember every detail of her pale exterior. Quite keenly, he thought about how her beauty had seemed to triple since he had last seen her… but he also thought about how blank and expressionless she appeared, not an emotion betraying her marble statue-like exterior.
It was too bad it was all a dream.
There was the slightest hint of doubt, tingling at the back of his spine — it had been too real, it had been too lifelike… but before his brain could come to a complete conclusion as to that, he was knocked from his thoughts by the door being thrown open.
"Morning, brat!" Jiraiya streamed into the room, as tall and imposing as ever yet positively vibrating with that all-too-familiar warmth.
Naruto groaned, falling back onto the thin mat he'd gone to sleep on with a soft plop. "Why are you bustin' down my door so early, ero-sennin?" he whined.
The sannin grinned. "I like the look of this town, kid, so I think we'll be staying here a few days. That doesn't mean we'll be slacking off, though! Guess what time it is?" His grin only widened as a look of exasperation overtook Naruto's features.
"Ugh," Naruto groaned, flopping onto his side, facing toward the window and away from Jiraiya. "Didn't we train like… the day before last? Do we really need to do it again so soon?"
"No, it wasn't the day before last. It was the day before last before last before last! Come on…" Jiraiya swept forward, putting a heel on Naruto's hip and flipping him onto his back once more. "No time to be lazy; up and at'em!"
A hand was clasped around his bicep, and like a ragdoll Naruto was yanked to his feet by Jiraiya. The blonde staggered slightly, the blood in his legs not quite flowing yet — he leaned against the window sill for a moment, shaking his feet.
He looked outside the window. A black bird was perched on the other side of the glass, staring at him curiously. Naruto stared at it; after a moment, it flapped its wings and took off — his gaze followed the feathered creature until it had whipped out of sight.
'It was such a nice dream…' he thought bitterly. 'Why couldn't it have been real?'
He felt a hand grab his collar, before he was yanked back from the window.
"Come on, brat," Jiraiya said. His tone was energetic as ever. "No time to waste; get dressed and meet me right outside the door. If you don't come out in five minutes I'll make you get dressed… understood?"
"Uh huh," Naruto mumbled.
It was funny how their teacher-student relationship worked.
Sometimes, Naruto would be begging Jiraiya to train him, day in and day out, every five minutes or every minute if he had the breath for it. He'd pester and pester the sannin until he reluctantly trained him… only to start the cycle all over again the next day.
Other times, Jiraiya would quite literally have to kick Naruto out of bed to get him to train, like he was doing now. The blonde was just like that — he was either fired up or he was the opposite. And, as Jiraiya had long since noted, the blonde tended to have brief spells of energy followed by (relatively) long belts of borderline depression at the very mention of a certain Uchiha.
Jiraiya had stopped even mentioning Satsuki by this point. He knew that ignoring the problem wouldn't help it — but he couldn't deal with seeing his protege look so glum, especially not over a girl who, in his opinion, didn't deserve his attention let alone his affection.
The white haired man stood outside of Naruto's room until approximately four minutes and fifty-two seconds later, the blonde clattered out, orange and black jumpsuit hanging loosely off of his frame.
"Alright," Naruto mumbled, yawning in an exaggerated manner. "Let's go train, ero-sennin."
Keeping her head down and her profile low was easy. The real problem was disguising the pain that coursed through her veins with every step she took. It was excruciating to put it lightly.
Once the adrenaline from her grand escape and encounter with Naruto had worn off, Satsuki came to a frightening realization: she really was injured. Badly. Only the cloak she wore hid the blood that seeped through her bandages uninhibited; only the cloak hid her limp.
The medicine wasn't difficult to acquire. But, as previously stated, she was no medical professional… and for obvious reasons — like a team of irate policemen searching after a wounded woman matching her description — she couldn't barge into a doctor's office and demand that he or she write him up a prescription. Well, technically she could with a healthy application of genjutsu, but there were too many risks involved; it was best to play it safe. And playing it safe meant settling for the strongest painkillers she could get over the counter. Tucking the plastic bag into her cloak, Satsuki hurried out of the store. The cashier's rushed- "Have a nice day!" fell on deaf ears, for the ring of the bell attached to the door drowned out the sound of the boy's voice.
The blood drained from her face as she bent her knees. She had planned to take to the rooftops — but that clearly was out of the question, owing to her injuries.
So she walked back to the hotel; or, more accurately, stumbled back. She had to tear off a part of her shirt and wrap it around her calf, as the blood had soaked through her bandage and she couldn't leave a trail right back to where she was staying.
Once she got to the hotel, however, she recognized that she had to summon the strength to leap up to her room. She couldn't risk going through the lobby again.
It took quite literally everything she had to get the strength to leap up to the balcony — and even then she didn't manage to clear it. She grasped the railing, and ended up having to pull herself over and onto the balcony proper.
Stumbling and staggering, the last of the Uchiha fell into the hotel room.
She popped the painkillers open, took some, and by God, did they-
Do nothing to ebb her pain.
Only sheer willpower stopped her from taking more then and there, which would have been a very bad idea.
Satsuki grit her teeth.
"Fuck…" she growled, swiping the roll of bandages she'd bought from the plastic bag. Falling down onto the couch, the young Uchiha went through the agonizing process of rebandaging her wounds, stripping off blood-soaked gauze and flinging it away from her, haphazardly yanking the new bandages around her wounds and cutting it off with her teeth.
It was a patchwork job at best. Any respectable doctor, shinobi or civilian, would have turned green at how poorly she wrapped up her wounds… but by now, her strength was fading. Tiredness ebbed at every one of her bones.
Truly, she tried to not slip away. She tried to summon another adrenaline rush. But, it was a lost cause… she was gone.
She laid her head back. The roll of bandages slipped from her hand, her last wound only half-covered.
Satsuki heaved one last sigh.
Then, the peace of unconsciousness beckoned her.
She was out like a light.
Sweaty and tired, Naruto stumbled back into his room, cursing his white haired teacher underneath his breath. For all his faults, Jiraiya could be one hell of a teacher when he wanted to be; which wasn't necessarily a good thing for his students. Naruto was a good deal more resilient than any ordinary person, and the fact that he of all people was battered and bruised by the end of the day… well, that likely gave a clue as to the state of destruction Jiraiya's other students must have been in.
No wonder the Yondaime had been so strong, Naruto thought. With a teacher like Jiraiya working him to the bone every day, and with no 'Akatsuki' or spy networks or whatever distracting them…
Naruto ran a hand through his hair. He stepped up to the window, undoing the latch and yanking it open, chipped paint flakes falling down onto the sill.
He stared out, as always engrossed by the night life of the town he and Jiraiya had stopped in. It always amused him how different villages could be — some places had thriving red light districts that dominated a third of the town… other places would shun a girl who 'dared' to wear a skirt that went higher than her knees. Ten miles difference could make for quite the culture shift. This town in particular seemed to be a mixture of the two… there was a brothel or two hiding in plain sight, but at the same time, it seemed more the place for serene romance. More five star restaurants and less strip clubs — less motels and more classy hotels, more parks and picnic areas instead of back alleys or isolated broom closets.
Naruto sighed.
Something had been nudging at the back of his head all day long. Even when he'd been getting his ass kicked by Jiraiya. It was — what was it? A dream? Reality? A forgotten memory? He wasn't sure.
But Satsuki wouldn't leave him alone. All he saw when he closed his eyes was black… black hair that he wanted to stroke and black eyes that haunted his soul.
Was she-
A hotel; a classy hotel. An encounter inside of it. A promise to come back…
… two weeks.
Was it a dream?
If it wasn't, he would never forgive himself if he didn't seize the opportunity in front of him.
He was so, so tired… exhausted, really. But the thought of seeing Satsuki again was waking him up; he stretched his arms, he cracked his knuckles. He formed a hand seal, summoning a shadow clone to masquerade in his stead just in case Jiraiya decided to check up on him.
Then he climbed through the window and out into the village. He remembered the way to Satsuki's hotel… if it was there, it wasn't a dream. If it wasn't there, at least he wouldn't be fraught with the guilt of not even trying.
He took to the rooftops…
It was the same balcony.
He leapt up there, landing deftly on said balcony. But, there was a flash of red out of the corner of his eye… he turned slightly, brushing a finger against the railing.
Blood. Logic dictated that she must have smeared it across the metal whenever she had climbed in or out of the apartment, but that logic didn't stop his heart from racing.
Naruto stepped into the darkened hotel room.
He was quiet; he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from calling out her name. The only sound was of his sandals gently gliding across the blue carpet.
There was a shadowy figure, laid out across the sofa.
Naruto blinked a few times, gaze not quite adjusted to the darkness of the room. When the shadow did not become clear to him, he decided to 'speed up' the process — he glanced around the dark room, which was only illuminated by the moonlight that drifted in through the slightly parted curtains.
There was a light switch; he darted towards it, flicking it on with a finger. Then he went back to the once shadowy figure…
… to see Satsuki laying there, on the couch, head raised and a sword clutched in her hand.
But her movements were sluggish. The blade shook violently in her grasp, though sheer willpower kept her from dropping it.
She narrowed her eyes slightly… and after a moment, the tension slowly began to fade from her body. She allowed the sword to drop.
"It's you…" Satsuki mumbled, laying back down on the couch.
"Yeah," Naruto said, worry laced in his tone. He rushed up to her, blue eyes widening. "It- it's me, Satsuki!" He put a hand on her shoulder, and she recoiled… through sheer instinct her fingers reached for her blade. "Jeez — jeez! I didn't know you were hurt this badly…"
He hadn't gotten a good look at her last night. Well, he had, but she'd done a good job of concealing her wounds from him… because damn.
A shiver ran down his spine as he saw her blood-soaked bandages.
There was a bottle of painkillers on the table; he picked it up, shaking a little to hear the rattle of pills inside of it.
"How many of these did you take?" Naruto mumbled.
"A few..." Satsuki grumbled.
"How many?" Naruto repeated.
"A few before I… fell asleep," she said. Which was a prideful way to say 'fell unconscious'. "I woke up for a little bit, took some more, than went back to… sleep."
He looked at the warning label, which very clearly said — take two, then wait at least four hours before taking anymore.
"Did you wait four hours like this thing says?" Naruto asked, pointing to the label.
She blinked. "It felt like four hours," was all Satsuki could get out, before she set her head back down.
It was Naruto's turn to blink this time.
When he had encountered Satsuki, he could- he could remember that feeling he'd had. His heart near thumping out of his chest; his hands clammy, his mind spinning. And when he'd left, he had no idea what might happen when they met once more.
Twenty-four hours ago when he had left this place, he hadn't expected to… waltz in on a Satsuki that was doped up on painkillers, bleeding through various wounds, and couldn't form a coherent sentence.
"This is really bad…" Naruto mumbled.
There was a roll of bandages on the floor beside the couch; he swiped it up. Satsuki once again recoiled as he put his hands near her… but there was nothing to it. He couldn't let her persist with these blood-soaked rags… he yanked them off, averting his gaze at the wounds beneath.
'What did you do to yourself, Satsuki?' he thought.
Well, the answer to that was obvious — he knew exactly what had happened. She had assassinated… no, that was too lenient a wording. She had murdered someone, and been wounded by the victim's guards as she escaped. She-
Fuck.
Murder was wrong, but he couldn't look at Satsuki and think… murderer.
He looked at her, and all he could see was his…
… friend.
Yeah, friend.
Before long, her bandages were changed. He had no idea how many painkillers she had taken, so he decided it was probably a good idea to wait like, eight hours or so before she took anymore.
Rising fully to his feet, Naruto looked down at Satsuki's limp form.
He thought she was asleep, and, well, she… kind of was.
A small part of her was still around, one hidden beneath the painkillers and the pain and the total exhaustion.
She'd been in and out ever since she had returned to the apartment. Unable to get up, unable to bring herself to move, but only able to fall asleep in brief spells.
In that time, she had had a lot of time to think.
'I can't do this on my own,' Satsuki realized. 'I'll need food, I'll need new clothing, I'll need water. I need medicine, and so many things… and…' Well, today more than anything had proved that she wasn't capable of doing all of that on her own. A brief trip to the pharmacy had left her passed out on the sofa… who knew what else could happen? All it took was one slip up to have her cover blown, and she wasn't going to escape from trained jounin a second time.
She needed him.
And that realization stung her pride more than anything.
Satsuki felt herself drift off once again, Naruto still standing above her, staring down at her.
His lips pursed together.
At his side, his hand twitched.
"I have to make sure…" he whispered.
Leaning down… all he did was put his hand in front of her mouth, the blonde shuddering as he felt her breath fan across his palm. He reached his hand forward, thumb brushing against her cheek. Again, she recoiled. It seemed insane how much she flinched at the slightest of touches.
But that was all he needed. She was breathing — she was real, she was right here, in the flesh.
He was glad that Satsuki seemed to have fallen back asleep.
Because he was crying. Tears streamed down his cheeks and down onto jaw, the salty taste filling his mouth.
Before he could make any more a fool of himself, Naruto walked away. He went into the kitchen, leaning against the counter, having to bite the inside of his cheek to stop choked sobs from escaping his lips.
'She's here. I can talk to her; she isn't lost yet.' Naruto swallowed. 'Now… all I have to do is bring her back.'
And he would do that no matter what.
Two important realizations here that will dictate the course of the story. If anything, that's what you should remember from this chapter.
Now, before I let ya go, don't forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter. If you had some questions or concerns, you can feel perfectly free to DM me here on FanFiction.
With that, I'll bid you all a good day. Stay tuned for next time.
