Well, I didn't update for a while 'cuz I wanted to see if I could get one more reveiw

Thanks, LoversPastForgotten!

ONCE AGAIN: Please reveiw every chapter you finish reading AND that I can't format

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I had waited so long to see your face again.

Waited so long only to cry.

I cryed then, because I cryed before, and I know

I'll sob for a long while after.

Because it was the face

The face I wanted to see so long

That made me want to die.

I never wanted to see you like that again.

But I would.

Somhow I knew I would.

Naruto's eyes welled up with tears, the hot liquid burning down his cheeks like acid.

"Iruka...sensei.." The boy staggered across the room. Sasuke watched him, his heart bursting with anguish for him.
The man winked, the blood running onto the hardwood floor, pony-tail cut and hair. He opened his mouth to say somthing, but a bullet wound that jaggedly slashed Iruka's upper leg open started to bleed.

The brunette winced. Then, all movement ceased.

Sasuke got up, not knowing if he wanted to interfere.

The tears that flew off his eyes were like rain as he collapsed infront of the two. He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, witch was suprisingly relaxed. Iruka's scar across his nose was fresh; his broken nose, his permanent scars tearing the side of his face. The tears that pooled into Naruto's hand were now crimson, and Sasuke had a hard time looking.

Finally, he adverted his eyes.

"I'm so...sorry...I don't..." He stopped, and broke down. Naruto didn't flinch as he hung his arms over his neck."Fucking know!"

He sat there, Naruto sobbing quietly, his entire body shaking slightly. Finally, he stopped crying, and positioned himself so Iruka's head was in his lap. Sasuke's finger's gripped his shirt.

"I-I should be the one crying, you ass." Sasuke stopped, his eyes wide.

"Naruto?" Sasuke knew Naruto didn't have to know what he was going to ask.

"Yes. He's alive."

If sombody looked through the window, through the snow, the blood, the glass, the tears, they would see three boys, two of them in love, one of them in pain. But it was clear to anyone who did look.

However, your asking if sombody did, you'd be correct. Her name was Sakura Haruno.

owari

Sasuke slowly wound the bandages around his legs where they were bleeding most and then dabbed the blood off his face slowly with a cold, wet, washcloth.

He's head now rested in the raven-haired boy's lap, and with care, Sasuke tied the pony tail back with his own tie. Sasuke's hair was slightly flat, more than before when Naruto took it out; he had to get new product, but for now he'd lend it to Iruka.

After all, his hair was the least of his worries.

Naruto was in the kitchen trying to complete a ramen dish on his own while Iruka lay dying in his bed.

Sasuke had sent him there in the first place. He just couldn't let Naruto do this alone.

Naruto came back with a cup of hot ramen, and tried to wake the unconsious man, but to no avail.

He glanced over at Sasuke who had his head in his hands.

It had been about six hours since the time when he had seen Iruka's face, not shutting his eyes once.

He placed the steaming cup in Sasuke's cold hands; the younger boy gave an appriciative look and then turned to the man beside him. He was coughing, coughing alot. Blood trickled out of his mouth.

"Iruka...are you alright now?" The warm-chestnut eyes blinked open. He tried to sit up, but found himself much to weak. Sasuke handed the rest of the ramen to him.

"Please eat somthing, Iruka." Umino turned to his side, took the cup, and took less than a few noodled before it was returned. They sat in silence, until Iruka spoke.

"I-I...was...kinda..shocked to see you g-guys...like...that..." He blinked and smiled weakly. Naruto would have hit him; it was so obvious he did it to see Sasuke blush.

Sasuke pouted and balled up the ends of the pink, ruffled, 'kiss the cook' apron he had put on to avoid blood on himself.

"But I always...knew you would..end up..t-togather...from that first..k-kiss." Sasuke blushed more.

"Iruka stop trying to change the subject." Naruto bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. "What happened to Kakashi." Iruka frowned, and coughed again.

"I don't know.." A tear slid down his cheek.

"W-what the hell do you meen? Kakashi?" Naruto gave Sasuke's a suspicious look. "You know what I meen, you always know." He turned back to Iruka, holding his hand gently.

"No, I don't! The only person I knew who got hurt was Iruka! I never knew Kakashi had anything to do with this!"

Sasuke stood up. Iruka laughed weakly at the sight of him in a lacy pink apron that said 'kiss the cook'.

"Where is he? Is he..okay?"

Iruka looked troubled at the thought. "I don't know Sasuke. Please, try not to worry yourself. Please, he's a strong man."

"They have Kakashi but they let Iruka go?" Naruto shook his head as Iruka said, "Not exactly, kid."

Kakashi didn't know where he was or where he was going. All he knew was that it was dark.

He might even be dead. All he saw when he opened his eyes was blackness.

When he closed them, he saw Iruka.

And at this point, in all the pain he was in, knowing Iruka was safe was all that matters.

He didn't even care if he was dead anymore, as long as Iruka wasn't

"Sasuke wait!"

Sasuke stopped at the door.

"You can't leave!" Naruto yelled at him. "Thats so...inconsiderate!"

"Big words, dobe. Use them...on the right person."
"Sasuke please..." It was Iruka. He turned to face him. "I'm not going to tell you to...stay...but will you do somthing for me?" Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto will you excuse me...this is very privite..." Naruto nodded and sat up slowly as left for the other corner of the room.

"Please tell Kakashi..." He whispered into his ear. "I love him." Sasuke looked shocked, but then nodded.

He was out of the room before Naruto noticed.

"Wait Sasuke I-"

He heard the kitchen door slam, meaning he was gabbing the cell phone that lay on the counter. Naruto knew him too well.

"-Need you..."

What would he do if somthing happened to Iruka?

He couldn't do it alone.

Sasuke sighed and fiddle for a while with the apron before he got up and walked out the door.

Naruto knew why he didn't want to reply.

It was because he was crying. Naruto couldn't go after him.

"Sasuke please wait!" He winced as the door slammed. Iruka turned onto his side and sighed.
"I hate that bastard..." Naruto mumbled, as he leaned his back against the wall, head on knees.

He found that his eyesight was becoming blurry. He tentivly reached his hand to his eye and relized his finger was wet.

"Don't say things like that..Naruto.." Iruka said. "You love him and thats all there is to it."
He didn't say anything more, and Naruto figured he was no longer awake.

He sighed.

"I wish it was that simple."

Sasuke banged on the door of Gaara's apartment.
Three.

Four.

Five...

"Damn you, Gaara-baka."

Six

Seven

Eight...

"What the hell! Sasuke?" Gaara opened the door to stare down at the shorter man. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"I need to talk to you." Gaara's eyes darted around.

"I don't think this is a good time." He was in a loose navy-blue t-shit he had obviously just thrown on and a pair of white and red striped boxers.

Sasuke pushed him aside. "It's really important!" Gaara sighed. "You could at least close the door when you come in. Heating's expensive."

He stood in the kitchen and looked around, waiting for Gaara to join him. He had never been in Gaara's apartment before; it was so much nicer and more lavish than Naruto's. Damn Dobe.
"Gaara-teme, are you coming?" Neji yawned, pillow under his arm, only in a matching pair of boxers, the same as Gaara. Sasuke stared for a moment, eyes wide, trying to comprehend what happened before he was came.

"Hyuuga?"
"Uchiha?" Neji blushed and used the pillow to cover his bare chest.

"W-what are you d-doing here?" Sasuke blushed and looked away, mumbling out of the corner of his mouth.

"I-I came to talk to Gaara...but apparently you did more than that already..."

Neji sighed a nervous "What ever." and headed back to the room cursing the Uchiha for looking so damn hot today.

"Sasuke, in here." Gaara called, though he never really yelled, so Sasuke had to think a while before he knew what he had said. He walked into the living room, slightly shocked why Naruto's apartment looked like crap compared to Gaara's.

He sat down slowly on the brown leather couch.

"You told me once about where Iruka was."

"I told you, yes..."

"Well, long story short, we found Iruka." Gaara's eyebrows raised a little at this.

"But they took Kakashi." Gaara paused for a long silence, pools of thought swimming in his bright green eyes.

"How dose this have to do with me?" Sasuke sighed and stared directly into his eyes.

"Can you tell me anything? What do you know?"

"No. Nothing."

"Lier!" Sasuke marched up to him. "Your going to tell me all you know." Gaara smirked. Sasuke grasped him by the coller of his shirt. He tightened his grip when he saw Gaara slight grin.

"Pretty tough..." Gaara whispered. "For somone so...scrawney."

"I am not scrawney!" He gritted his teeth, eyes in a death-glare. "Stop trying to change the damn subject!"

Gaara, who was signifigantly taller than Sasuke, lifted his arm of his coller and pushed him a few feet back.

"I told you I...don't..." He watched as tears welled up in Sasuke eyes. He put a hand on his shoulder, but it was pushed away.

"Please...you stupid...idiot...stop crying...you made me want to actually help you." Sasuke looked up with big, ebony eyes.

"Gaara..."
Gaara sighed, reached into his pocket, and stuffed a piece of paper into Sasuke hands. Sasuke looked at Gaara, who was pouting, then the inkstained paper. He hugged Gaara, tightly, mouthing a 'thank you', before he looked back at him with a broad grin. Gaara blushed.

"Uchiha!" He said as Sasuke sprinted pasted Neji, who was eating a blueberry muffin, to the door. He turned his head as he placed his hand on the golden door knob.

"Don't tell...anyone...anyone, Sasuke, that I helped you." He said in a lower tone than usual.

"...sure..." Sasuke smiled slightly and then shut the door with a loud 'SLAM'. Gaara stared at the door where Sasuke had last been, as if frozen by Sasuke's icey presence to the spot.

"Fallen under the spell of the Uchiha yet, Gaara?" Gaara turned. It was Neji. He sighed and shook his head, like he was really thinking that over. Then he turned to his lover, and looked him in the eyes.

"No. My heart..." He kissed him on the cheek. "Belongs to you."

"Good." Neji smiled.

There was a pause.

"Are you coming back to bed?"
"You bet."

"Sasuke's been gone...a long, long time, Iruka..."

"I-I know...he'll be back...s-soon..." Naruto rested his back against the creamy-colored wall paper and sighed.

Iruka was cirtainly strong; he was sitting up, but Naruto wouldn't allow him to walk due to a bullet wound in his right leg.

Sasuke...He thought, his heart beating faster. Please be...okay...

I only cause pain to you.

You were scared and alone.

It was all my fault.

I used to wish I didn't have this curse about me.

I wished that when I came people would smile.

Not cry.

Then I found that

Wishing won't help me

It's not somthing to pass the time

It's not somthing that helps me sleep at night.

It's somthing thats not real.

Just like me.

I'm fake. Everything about me is fake.

What he sees in me..

I know is

Fake.

The first person to ever

Love me...

Is gone because of

me.
I stare down at my hands

The're so...bloody...

But the worst part is...

It's his blood.

I know it.

So dose he.

"K-kaka...shi..." A small, faint voice awoke Naruto. He stared at Iruka, who was mumbling in his sleep.

...Kakashi...

"I-I...miss...you..." When the words reached his ears, a image of Sasuke flashed into his mind. I miss you too, Sasuke. And I wish I had told you I loved you before you left.

Sasuke's legs ached.

In his mind burned a image of Kakashi when he had left him in Konoha.

Don't worry. Please don't worry.

"I promise to help...you" Sasuke whispered as he looked up at the adress. It was the same on the ink-stained paper.

"I won't let you down...Like I did everyone eles."

"What do you want with Sasuke?"

Kakashi Hitake asked, wiping the blood streaming down his chin.

There was no answer.

"He's going to come here." He rubbed the large, open gash on his side, and winced.

No answer.

"Please, he's just a boy..." There was a long silence, a silence that engulfed him. For a long time all Kakashi could here was his own heartbeat.

"Yes, but a boy who is destined to..."

No...

"Die..."

"You need to go." Naruto turned to Iruka, who was sitting up and dirnking the mug of water that lay beside him.

He took a long, thoughtful sip.

"You need to go to him."

"But Iruka..." Iruka grasped his hand, and gave him a sincere smile."Please...I'll be fine."

"I don't know if he needs me anymore. Even if I do need him..."

"Tell me somthing, Naruto." Naruto slipped on his signature headband on then his jaket as Iruka stared up at him.

"What...is it Iruka..?"


A long time ago you told me somthing. Somthing I will never forget.

"Naruto...don't you have somone to go home to?"
"I wish I did. But I...don't..."

"Is there somone you have to love you?"
"...no...but..."

"Is there somone...you have to protect?"
"Theres...me I guess..."

"Do you love anyone?"

"...no..."

"Do you have somone to go home to every night?" Naruto paused. He remembered this. The kids, the teachers, everybody would ask him and pity for it. Waves of his childhood sadness washed over him.

"Yes. It's Sasuke...well now it is."

"Is there somone you know will love you no matter what?"

"Yeah...I think its...Sasuke."

"Is there somone you have to protect?"

"I'll protect Sasuke with my life."

"Do you love anyone?"

"Yes. I love Sasuke with all my heart."

Naruto stared at Iruka until he nodded and left the room, door halfway open. Iruka smiled to himself as he heard the door slam.

Thats the same kid? Truley Unbelievable.

Sasuke stood in the doorway of the warehouse.

I'm not sure I'm enough.

"I'm really hoping...your here..."

Can I feel your presence?

Sasuke shut his eyes and took a deep breath, and clenched his shaking fists.

Kakashi...yes...You are here...

Sasuke smiled, but it was grimly if it even was a smile in the first place.

"I can here your heartbeat..."

But can I be sure...?
Snow fell on his raven colored hair and down his face. He tilted his head up slightly, enjoying the numbing sensation that fell opon his body.

Do I know to trust just my ears?

"Kakashi..."

I know now it wasn't just my ears.

"I can feel your love."

It was my own beating heart...

"I wish I had told you I loved you before..." A piece of an icey crystal acted as a mock tear as it melted on his warm cheek.

It was beating in the rythm of yours.

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