Dominick-chan: All right! A double update! I'm on a fekkin roll here, man! XD
Summery: Everyone has Darkness within them; some more than others. With Uzumaki, Naruto in a mental hospital, and Uchiha, Itachi as his Doctor, will things spiral further down for the blond or will he find at least some solace within the older, darker male beside him? And when Kyuubi-sama comes into play, how will it all end?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters, they belong to Kishimoto-sensei. I do own the Sphereum.
DARKNESS
CHAPTER III:
UNDER THE MOON
Bleary eyes stared into the face of Uchiha, Itachi and the brightness of the florescent lights in his room. His doctor's face was blank as he worked over him, but his eyes gave away his concern. Swallowing, Naruto winced as the rawness of his throat became apparent. "Would you like a drink, Naruto?" His body hurt to move and his jaw was clenched so tight, it felt as though his teeth would break, but he managed a small, weak nod. Turning from him, Itachi filled a cup full of ice water from the pale pastel pitcher on the bedside table and helped the blond into a sitting position. Naruto resisted a cry of pain and settled for a small whimper. His eyes squeezed shut and he grimaced. "What's your pain level, Naruto?" Using Sign Language, he conveyed an eight to the man, who nodded. Holding the plastic cup, he guided it to the boy's chapped lips and only allowed him to sip a little at a time. When the liquid was gone, the doctor placed the cup back on the bedside table and slid Naruto down the mattress as carefully as he could; his soft hand gently guiding the band of his pants down as he held a thin syringe between his teeth.
As the blonds body tensed, Itachi rubbed small circles into his hip. "Easy, Naruto. I'm just giving you some pain medication." This calmed him a bit and he jumped when something cold hit his flesh. "That's the alcohol pad, Naruto. It's all right." Pulling the cap from the syringe, he held it in his hands like a dart. "You're going to feel a small poke, but it will pass soon." Naruto braced himself and was surprised that he didn't feel as much pain as he'd expected. He felt a cotton ball swiftly rub across his skin and his scrub pants were pulled back up. "Better?" Naruto nodded and allowed Itachi to help him back into a sitting position. "I'm sorry. . ." The Uchiha paused and stared into the boy's dead eyes; startled by the sound of his slurred and broken voice. "For what?" Naruto's lips moved before he spoke. "For being an. . .inconvenience?" His eyes closed. "No, bothersome. . .trouble for you. . ."
Itachi blinked. "This is what I do, Naruto. It is why I am here." The blond fiddled with the orange casing around his arm; his body slouched and head down. "Still, I apologize." Shaking his head, the raven gently leaned him back and pressed the cup to his lips again. "Drink." Without question, he began to sip the cool liquid. When the cup had been drained a second time, the man placed the cup back on the tray and stood. "I'll be back to check on you soon, Naruto." Turning off his light, Itachi closed the door and left.
Three Weeks Later
The blue eyed blond boy sat upon the floor near Gaara's legs looking better than he had as each member eyed him curiously, though they said nothing. Laying his head against the redhead's knee, Naruto closed his purple lined eyes and breathed deeply. He truly liked the way Gaara smelled. It was sandy and reminded him of the Dragon's Blood incense Kyuubi-sama would always burn. He willed away the tears that pricked his eyelids and rubbed his injured cheek against the supporting leg. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked around. Kiba was flirting with Hinata again and Sakura was doing the same to the brooding Uchiha. Ino was absent and Kurenai was charting everyone's behavior. Naruto yawned and his eyes closed once more. He jumped when a hand ran through his hair and he looked up at the green eyed boy. "I'm sorry. I only wanted to touch it." Naruto nodded. "It's okay. You just startled me, that's all." He noted how his hand was itching to touch it again and he gace an awkward, menacing smile. "Actually, it felt kind of nice. You can do it again, if you want. . ."
Gaara's lips twitched slightly and he gave an abrupt nod as the blond relaxed against his leg again; a gentle canine-like humming sounding in his throat as he was petted. Slowly, he drifted into a light sleep and resisted the urge to growl when Kurenai cleared her throat. "All right, everyone, come grab a piece of paper and a pencil." Reluctantly, they all stood and went to the woman. "Naruto, you don't have to do this one, seeing how your arm's broken." He shrugged. "Wouldn't matter. I'm ambidextrous." Taking the items gently from her, he sat back down. Blinking, she handed out the rest of the papers and pencils and waited for everyone to take their seats. Naruto absentmindedly scratched at the marks Kyuubi had left upon his left cheek while he waited. "Now then! I would like you all to write about something you accomplished today. If you can't think of anything, be creative!" Groaning, they all began.
Kurenai couldn't help watching Naruto as he wrote with his left hand, tongue between his teeth, but his eyes still dead. Sighing, she looked to see if everyone was participating and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Sasuke, why aren't you writing anything?" He didn't answer her, choosing instead to look away. "Just do the assignment and quit being such an ass, Uchiha." Sasuke shot a dark look at Naruto, who had not paused in his writing to speak. "You going to make me, dobe?" The blonds head snapped up and he focused on the raven. "So eager to fight. . .Tsk tsk. . .You know, the last person to call me that, died by my hands." Sasuke's eyes became, if possible, harder. "Is that a threat?" Naruto gave a malicious smirk that caused everyone, with the exception of Gaara, to shiver. "No. That is a fact. Now, if I had said that I would kill you by slitting your stomach open and letting your entrails spill out from your body cavity, and then cut your throat, that would be a threat." Kurenai began to speak, but Naruto held up a finger to momentarily silence her.
"But, I never said that, so no, it was not a threat, simply a stated fact. Now, quit pretending to be an Emo and just write something." Sasuke looked as though he was about to jump the blond, but the group leader interrupted them. "Okay everyone! Finish up and hand them to me." Standing, Naruto handed his and Gaara's pencils and papers to her and walked back to where the redhead's itching hands were. Closing his eyes, he let out a content sigh as the fingers ran along his skull once more. "Five points to Naruto and Kiba for their essays, four to Gaara and Hinata, two for Sakura, and I'm sorry Sasuke, but no points for you today." The raven shrugged and stood. "Have a nice day, everyone!" They all took that as their que to leave and hurried out of the room. Nodding to one another, Naruto and Gaara parted ways. The blond sat upon a waiting chair, waiting for the person before him to exit for his turn to spend time with Itachi. A few moments later, a small boy with brunette hair stepped from the room and walked away.
Standing and leaning against the doorjamb, he stared at Itachi, evaluating him. The elder Uchiha was bent prodigiously over his work; glasses to the side of his desk and pen in hand flying over papers. Using the tips of his uninjured fingers, he drubbed against the heavy wood. Itachi raised head and nodded. Naruto came in and quietly shut the door. "I just have to finish these notes and then we'll get to you." Nodding, he explored the room, touching shelves and the spines of his voluminous collection of books. A shiny glass ball caught his attention and he hesitantly picked it up. Yellow, red, orange and blue spirals twirled around inside the ball. He stared into it, transfixed by the colours and the coolness of it. The shining colours glinted on his face, lighting up his eyes. His fingers itched to stick the ball into his pocket, but he shook his head and carefully returned it; astonished when the colours faded and it became an ordinary glass ball. He put a finger to it and the colours came back. A giggle escaped his lips and he froze, surprising himself. 'What would Kyuubi-sama think of this?'
Suddenly, the inside of the ball became a deep red and a shock ran through his finger. "Ow!" Taking his finger away quickly, he stuck the digit in his mouth. When he removed his finger, the ball had become clear again and he glared at it. Itachi, who had been finished writing for awhile now, wand had been content in watching Naruto play with the Sphereum, resisted a chuckle. He watched the boy's face clear and wipe his finger on his pants. Naruto gave that awkward smile again and placed his finger back on it. 'Hmm. . .I wonder why Sasuke is such an ass. . .maybe. . .' A realization his him and he burst out laughing. 'He's gay! Oh my god! That's hilarious!' The ball turned a turquoise colour and the tip of his finger numbed. Removing the dactyl, he shook it off and put it back. 'This thing is weird!' The ball became red again and he quickly took his hand away. 'Ah! Ah! Ah! I learned from the last time!' The red faded and he waited a moment before touching it again. 'Right, you don't like being insulted. I apologize.' The ball turned a yellow-green. 'But, you have to agree, this is pretty weird. I mean, how many glass balls are as pretty as you?' The yellow-green darkened to a sage colour and then a cherry red, as if blushing from the compliment. "Ne, Itachi-san, what is this?"
At the mention of the man's name, the ball turned a carnation pink and a warm feeling spread through him. Rolling his eyes, he took his finger away and shook it off again. Itachi stood and grabbed it from the shelf. At his touch, black, navy blue and royal purple snowflakes seemed to swirl and fall inside the ball and Naruto gave a small smile. "It's called a Sphereum. Something I picked up in my travels." "As an assassin, right? I'm curious." Itachi looked into the boy's eyes. "How is it, that someone as psychotic and sadistic as you got a job as a psychologist of all things." The raven gave a true assassin's smile. "It depends on who you know and how you pull their strings." Naruto chuckled darkly. "Threats can only get you so far, Itachi, and killing only gets you so high up on the playing field. Let me guess, you stayed at home, the "prodigy" they called you, got degrees in Medicine, Science, Psychology. . .They ordered you too far, took advantage of your mind and something snapped, so you took care of them." His eyes returned to Itachi's blank face. "Leaving Sasuke the only one alive after he watched you murder everything he knew, you left and took up a job as a hunter. But which class did you enter, I wonder?"
He placed a finger to his lips. "Surely not Black Opts. Too crowded and common for you. Definitely not that stupid snake who claims to be what we are. Malicious intent is true in him, but he uses people. Then, there's the Akatsuki." He nodded. "It's the perfect place for someone like you. Dark, quiet, everyone minds their own business. . .Just the place for you, I'm sure. . .You had a partner though, didn't you? The only one who wouldn't have would be the leader, but he did as well; a female no doubt. Hmm. . ." He smiled. "Am I remotely close?" Itachi blinked. "Correct as usual, Naruto." The blond ran a hand through his hair and turned his gaze to the Sphereum. "Well, when you grow up with an assassin, you tend to become one, yourself. One of the first rules, Research everything." Naruto reached out to touch the ball, but before he could, the heavy door burst open, causing Naruto to crumple into himself. "Itachi! We need you in the E.R.!"
The raven gave a firm nod and pulled the blond up from the floor. Dropping him off at his room, Itachi placed the Sphereum into his palm and smirked. "Take good care of this for me, Naruto?" The blond stared, wide eyed at the man before him. "Itachi!" Sighing, he caressed the boy's cheek and turned, half running to his destination. "Thank you." Blinking, Naruto turned and placed the Sphereum beneath his pillow. "I'll be back soon." Grabbing his sketch book and mechanical pencil, he left his room and stood out in the hall. "Let's go find Gaara, shall we?" Nodding to himself, he turned and skipped down the hall.
Glute: The Gluteal muscle; Hip muscle
Deltoid: Muscle of the upper arm
Dominick-chan: So, I hope everyone's happy with my double awesomness! Please read and review! Lollipops and gummidrops for everyone! ^^