Just to Survive

By: Xzotic

Chapter 6:

A Good Heart and a Sad Soul


As the days blurred by, Iruka came to the realization that he'd become even more attached to Naruto than he'd ever thought he would. He was losing sleep sitting up at night worrying about where the teenager could be. The days had gotten colder and the nights longer and still no one had been able to find a trace of him. Iruka didn't want to think of the things that could have happened to the blond in the past three weeks that he'd been missing.

It was Monday morning and somehow Iruka had managed to drag himself out of his small townhome and drive to the school in his state of half-wakefulness. But as he was walking up to the entrance of the school, the young man realized that there was somebody waiting for him just outside of the large double doors.

"Iruka," Principal Sarutobi greeted somberly, "I'd like to see you in my office. There's something very important we need to discuss."

The young guidance counselor's eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to thump as he thought of all the terrible things Principal Sarutobi could have to say.

As he followed the older man's lead, his body moving automatically as a sudden coldness gripped his limbs, Iruka thought only of one thing. Had they found Naruto's body laying somewhere?

***

As he sat shivering near the mouth of a random alleyway, the blond ruefully reflected that he had been in worse conditions before. The attic in his old orphanage, while a perfect hiding place, had been terribly drafty and open to the worst winter climate. He remembered blacking out as he leaned against the rafters up there only to awake later with his limbs stiff and numbed from the cold, hunger, and pain.

Naruto let out a world-weary sigh. Life hadn't improved much for him since then, had it, he thought to himself. He had pushed on for all these years with the constant belief that things would get better. He would prove himself… prove to the world that he was worth something, right? Isn't that what he'd been living by?

With a sad smile, Naruto looked around at his surroundings taking in the littered ground, the graffiti-coated walls, and the pungent smell of drugs, alcohol, and urine. How was he ever going to prove anything if places like these were the only places that were safe for him? Why wasn't he welcome anywhere else? Why couldn't he live on his own terms for once without some stupid adult getting in his way?

Feeling like the frustration might burn him alive, he forcefully squeezed his eyes closed and leaned his head back against the cold brick wall to shut out the world. If he had had an ounce of common sense, he would have ended all of this pain years ago. For someone like him who'd never had a family, never had any friends (crazy old man Teuchi aside), and never had a chance at anything, suicide only naturally seemed like his brightest option.

It's too bad he was born so stubborn, he thought with a self-deprecating smirk. His dark humor was interrupted quite suddenly by the sound of a loud scream. His blue eyes popped open and immediately honed in on the shock of pink hair in the otherwise gray scenery. "Sakura…?" he whispered faintly in shock.

The junior class president was standing in the middle of the sidewalk just across the street, angrily kicking and screaming at the group of men who were bothering her. Everyone else was ignoring the entire scene, going about their own business as if a petite teenage girl wasn't getting assaulted right within their midst.

Naruto felt his hackles rise from the intensity of his anger. He was up and running across the street before he'd even taken full stock of the situation. "HEY!" he shouted angrily. The three men who stood rifling through Sakura's belongings looked up, but the fourth, who was having too much fun grabbing at Sakura's arms and waist, didn't seem to notice his angry approach.

Cocking a fist back in his outrage, Naruto didn't even think about slowing his momentum. How dare they mess with the one person his own age who had even come close to acknowledging him? His fist went flying at the tall bastard who was holding her and he felt a satisfying crunch as he twisted his fist into the man's face. His victim went crashing into a heap of garbage bags propped against the side of a building and didn't get back up.

Sakura swung around in shock and her moistened green eyes widened at the sight of him. "Naruto!" she cried, grabbing at his dirty jacket sleeve. "It's really you!"

Naruto kept his eyes trained on the three men standing behind her and felt his heart drop in dismay as he watched them each pull out expensive-looking switch blades. He was in no condition to fight three full-grown men with weapons. He hadn't had a proper meal in three days, his bones were weak and shaking from the constant cold weather, and he hadn't slept well ever since he'd been on the run. It was really all he could do to stay standing now that the adrenaline rush from seeing Sakura in danger had started to fade.

"You're going to really regret sticking your nose where it doesn't belong you little brat!"

Naruto weakly pushed Sakura behind him and whispered a quick "don't move." He felt her grip the back of his jacket in fear and he watched as the three men approached in unison as he pondered his rotten luck.

The man in the middle lunged first, aiming for a quick slash across his chest but he stumbled back just in time, pushing Sakura further back before lunging forward and aiming to knock the weapon out of the man's right hand. It was a failed attempt and instead he had to try and avoid the dual attacks from the other two men, managing to get away with a shallow cut across his left cheek.

He heard Sakura gasp behind him but had no time to pay it any attention as all three men came at him as one. Knowing he didn't stand a chance in his weakened state, the blond leapt forward, ignoring the pain as one of the knives stabbed him right through the shoulder, and furiously tackled the man in the middle, knocking him to the ground. The man frantically swiped at him but Naruto caught the sharp knife in a bloodied hand and proceeded to punch the guy's face in to his heart's content.

In the background, Naruto heard the suspicious sounds of bare fists pummeling human flesh and turned around once he'd assured himself that his own victim had been knocked unconscious. He met eyes with a scowling dark-haired boy who stood over the prone, twitching bodies of the other two men.

Pulling himself slowly to his feet, Naruto felt himself sway precariously as he watched the disagreeable boy approach the pink-haired girl who sat crying on the side of the street. "Who…" he mumbled weakly, watching in alarm as the world started to fade to black around the edges of his vision.

The dark-haired, dark-eyed youth glanced back at him over his shoulder. "Uchiha, Sasuke," he answered arrogantly.

It was the last thing Naruto heard before the darkness completely consumed him.

***

Kakashi had gotten the news less than an hour ago while he'd been sitting at his desk signing the never-ending pile of papers that his secretary supplied. Paperwork was one of the many downsides to being captain of a squad but his superiors wouldn't hear any of his arguments about going back to Lieutenant; he'd talked his way out of two promotions as it was. Like it or not, paperwork and social niceties were a necessary evil if he wanted to stay in his current line of work. He grumbled about the duality of his situation as he walked through the doors of Kage Central Hospital.

Glancing around at the busy waiting room, Kakashi made his way up to the front desk and waited for the nurse to acknowledge him. When she finally looked up she seemed to do a double take before blushing and stammering out a greeting. Kakashi merely rolled his eyes; this is why he always wore his face mask. That and it was convenient to never let his enemies see his entire face.

With a lazy smile on his lips, the white haired SWAT captain politely asked for the room number of the brat he'd come to visit and gave a mock salute in farewell once he had his information. As soon as he passed through the double doors leading to the hospital rooms, he immediately pulled his face mask up and into place.

Honestly, that brat had caused him more than enough trouble for a lifetime, he thought acerbically. If he had listened to him in the first place, maybe his scrawny butt wouldn't have ended up in the hospital. Kakashi snorted softly at the thought. Then again, maybe the brat would've wound up here anyway after he was forced to pound into him for being an annoying know-it-all.

After scaling the stairs to the third floor and walking down the correct corridor, Kakashi found himself standing in front of the right doors. With his eyes half-closed and his shoulders slouched, the young captain walked in and met the glaring eyes of his young, rebellious charge.

"Yo," he greeted simply, moving to the side of the bed.

Sasuke looked angry as he turned away. "I told them not to call you."

Kakashi's eyes crinkled with amusement. "I see they still have me listed as your 'in case of emergency' person, then. No getting around that. You are a minor, still, after all."

Sasuke snorted. "Are you going to drag me back home with you or are you going to turn me over to the company head?"

Kakashi tried not to sigh at the brat's prissy little attitude. "Sasuke… we've been over this before. For whatever cooked up reason, your mom named me in charge of you. Which means that no matter what you do to piss me off and test my patience, the CEO of your family's company has no business knowing about it. I'm all you've got right now, kid."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose with slight distaste. "You don't have to say it like that," he protested.

Kakashi let his gaze fall on his charge's bandaged right hand and the IV sticking into his arm. "What did you get into this time, kid?"

The youth looked over at him this time with solemn eyes, not a trace of animosity in his gaze. "I just had to get away from it all, Kakashi," he admitted heavily. "All I ever do is think about what happened. The fact that that bastard is still out there somewhere…."

Kakashi watched as the troubled teen lowered his head, overcome with emotion. It was the same problem every time. Sasuke had witnessed such a traumatizing event that Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to move on. Living with someone who dealt with traumatizing situations like that for a living didn't seem to help matters. Sometimes Kakashi worried that he wasn't doing enough for the kid with his limited experience on family. And the horrors he'd seen on the job had ultimately desensitized him to certain things too, after all.

The white-haired captain scratched his head dubiously as he settled on disclosing something with the brat. "Listen, Sasuke," he mumbled seriously, "something happened while you were gone."

Sasuke perked up at the news, looking up at his legal guardian with wide eyes. "What? What happened?" he demanded. It had to be something serious. He thought of his family's company… the only thing he had left of his parents' legacy.

Kakashi hesitated but ultimately decided that there was no reason to keep this from the boy. "Itachi was captured about three weeks ago," he blurted out plainly. "He's being held without bail on multiple counts of racketeering, money laundering, fraud-"

"What about murder!" Sasuke shouted angrily.

This time Kakashi did let out his sigh. "We've been over that before, Sasuke. There is no proof."

"I'm your proof! I was there!"

"Look," Kakashi took a seat on the edge of the bed as he tried to talk reason with the poor kid. "We have Itachi on enough charges to put him away for a very long time. That's the best I can do for you, kid."

Sasuke turned his head away petulantly. "I should've never come here. If that stupid blond idiot hadn't been so reckless I would've never been forced to come here in the first place and have those stupid doctors call you!"

Blond idiot? Kakashi thought to himself curiously. "This blond idiot… was he about your age with blue eyes? Goes by the name of Naruto?"

Sasuke looked only slightly surprised. "Yeah… that's what the girl kept calling him. Why?"

Kakashi felt a weight fall off of his shoulders and sagged slightly in relief. "I've been looking everywhere for that brat. Thought he was dead. You brought him here? Is he alright?"

Sasuke shrugged uncaringly. "They carted him away and dragged me off before I could say anything. The doctor says I'm severely malnourished by the way. I think he wants to have a chat with you."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and stood up. "Great," he grumbled sarcastically. "Sit tight, and try not to move that hand too much. It's still healing from the last time."

Sasuke glowered angrily at his mention of the 'last time'. Any reference to his crazy stunt of running off to try and kill his brother only to get his right hand nearly irreversibly crushed was grounds for another heated argument. "I know," he bit out ruthlessly, turning his head away pointedly.

Kakashi let out another sigh and closed the door behind him.

***

Iruka sat in a chair at the side of the patient's bed with a worn look on his face. When he had arrived, hours ago after Miss Sakura had run to tell him what happened, Naruto had still been in the ICU receiving stitches on his right shoulder. Now the doctors said he was sleeping off several weeks worth of exhaustion and replenishing the many nutrients that his starving system required.

As Iruka stared at the poor young man's face, he couldn't help but think about the shocking conversation he'd had with Principal Sarutobi. Nothing in the world had prepared him for what he'd discovered…

"Iruka," the old man said seriously. "I'm glad that you've agreed to my suggestion concerning Naruto but there's something you should know before you fully commit to the idea."

Iruka tried not to let too many of his emotions show as he sat before the principal's desk. He had only just gotten over the shock of being asked such an astonishing request. Iruka was further shocked when, despite not being fully aware of the whole situation, he didn't hesitate to say yes.

"You may be too young to remember the details," Sarutobi started, "but about 16 years ago, Kage City was in a state of panic."

Iruka furrowed his brow dubiously. What did this change in subject have to do with Naruto, he wondered. "You're referring to the terrorist attacks?" he asked aloud.

Sarutobi nodded slowly. "You've heard of the terrorist/serial killer, Kyuubi, haven't you?"

Iruka gritted his teeth angrily at the name. How could he not know about Kyuubi? That monster had been responsible for the deaths of his parents, after all. When he was only fifteen!

Sarutobi sighed, already knowing the history of Iruka's parents. "Naruto was a victim of Kyuubi's long before he was born, Iruka…"

In the hospital bed, Naruto suddenly let out a gasp and shot up into a sitting position with wide, unfocused eyes.

Iruka was jarred away from his thoughts as he watched the small teen take in his surroundings unsurely. He cleared his throat gently to grab the boy's attention and was immediately stricken by a bright set of seafoam blue eyes.

"Mr. Iruka?" the blond mumbled confusedly.

"Hello Naruto," Iruka replied with a slightly forced smile. He still wasn't sure how he felt about Naruto's connection to the mass murderer Kyuubi but he'd decided that, logically, he couldn't hold such a thing against an innocent child. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto's eyes darted back and forth around the room nervously. "U-um… fine, Mr. Iruka…."

"We've been very worried about you, Naruto. We didn't think you were coming back."

The blond forced himself to look his guidance counselor in the eyes again. "I'm, uh, sorry I worried everyone, Mr. Iruka, but I wasn't planning on coming back."

"And why was that?" Iruka asked, frowning now.

Naruto didn't say anything but turned his head away in silent turmoil.

Iruka was saddened by the young boy's position. The deep-rooted sadness in his bright blue eyes was nearly oppressive in its intensity. Seeing him with that look on his face made him realize that he was making the right decision.

"Naruto-"

"Mr. Iruka I'm sorry you had to come down like this," the blond interrupted gently. "And I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to prove to you that I'm something more than some troublemaking kid off the streets…"

A sad smile stretched across the older man's face. He felt so bad for this unfortunate teen. He'd gone his entire life being shunned by everyone simply because no one was willing to get close enough to see the kind, inspirational soul that existed beneath the surface. His resolve hardened even more in that moment.

"Naruto…" he tried again.

"I can't go back to that orphanage, Mr. Iruka," the teen interrupted again. This time he turned to meet his guidance counselor's eyes imploringly. "You can't make me go back there!"

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted exasperatedly.

This time the blond in question remained silent and waited, with a sullen expression for the older man to speak.

Iruka took a long breath before standing and walking to the side of Naruto's bed. The blond continued to watch with a childlike pout on his lips as though he knew he was about to be reprimanded. Several emotions were flitting across his bright blue eyes: fear, sadness, determination, anger….

Iruka looked down at him and smiled gently. "Mr. Uzumaki," he asked, "How would you feel if I were to sign the papers tonight… for your adoption?"

A/N: I hope it wasn't too weird that I ended it there. The focus of this chapter was supposed to be the idea of Naruto being stuck at a crossroads. He hasn't really been able to move forward and make something of himself yet due to his situation but he does want to ignore all of his fears and prove to everyone that he can make something of himself. Taking all of that into account, Iruka's offer is a major turning point for the story. Just imagine what Naruto's reaction will be!

Anyway, sorry this update took a while. Although I have the entire outline for this story done out, I ran into a bit of a stumbling block when it came time to place Sasuke in the story. He's a major dichotomy for me. I love the effect he has in cementing Naruto's beliefs, but I hate how he turns out in the actual anime. No loyalty. I think my Sasuke might turn out a little differently but I'm not sure and this may cause me to deviate from my original outline a bit.

Take into account, people, that I don't have a beta for any of my work so your reviews are my only feedback and I do, in fact, appreciate constructive criticism. I'm not overly confident that I got the proper range of emotion across but I hope I did okay. Naruto's situation in this story is fashioned after someone I knew in middle school. No one knew until the end of 7th grade that this guy was actually homeless (only 13!) and the way he acted you would've never guessed. But the teachers found out and he wound up staying with his uncle or something. Crazy story! But anywho, please review!!