Title: Sinners' Devotion
Summary: Sasuke saved Itachi instead of killing him-on a whim supposedly. Now back in Konoha with Akatsuki after them along with Naruto, they have to do everything in their power to protect everything they…. love? future ItaSasuNaru yaoi – rating may go up.
Words: 8,665
Total: 43,893
Date: 7-21-10
Disclaimer: So I was trying to pose as Kishimoto one day but then I realized: I wasn't a guy, I suck at drawing, I don't live in Japan, and I don't have a hint of Japanese blood in me. FUCK. (I also do not own any lyrics/movies/songs I may put in my story.)
ALSO! IMPORTANT READ!:
I realized that I need to put the ages up here since I kinda changed them around to fit my needs. Not a lot but a little.
Ino; Shikamaru; Chouji; Kiba; Hinata; Shino; Sakura; Sasuke – 16 yrs
Neji; Lee; TenTen; Suigetsu; Karin – 17 yrs
Naruto; Juugo – 18 yrs I am going off on the fact that Naruto failed the exam twice so he should be older than his graduating class by two years. I know this isn't how it is Canon but this isn't Canon now is it?
Itachi -21 yrs
Iruka-26 yrs
Kakashi- 30 yrs
End of Chapter 7:
Naruto nodded. "Sure, give me a second." He walked back into the house and grabbed his shoes. "Itachi! Sasuke! I'm going out for a second! I shouldn't be long, so don't wait up! Oyasumi!" He closed the door behind and followed Kakashi into the main streets of Konoha which were deserted at this time of night. "What'cha need Kaka-sensei?"
There was silence for a couple of minutes, only the sounds of the wind filtering through Naruto's ears as they continued to walk through the abandoned streets. Kakashi came to a stop next to a bench, the lamp post providing light above them. He turned to Naruto with a saddened sigh, his eye downcast, alarming Naruto.
"What?" He asked frantically, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What's wrong? What happened, Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi's mouth opened only to shut once more. He brought up his eye to meet the blonde's. Naruto gasped at the anguish that was present in the eye. "Kaka-" Naruto breathed out, not even able to finish his question.
"Naruto…" Kakashi trailed off shaking his head slightly before continuing. "Naruto… Jiraiya's dead." Those two words sent Naruto's world crashing down around him.
Chapter 8: Blood and Comfort
"Heh, stop kidding around Kaka-sensei." Naruto laughed. His smile slowly faded when Kakashi's pained expression didn't change. "You're-…. You're just kidding… right? This is all just a joke, right!" His voice became frantic, pleading for it all to be a lie.
Kakashi's opened his mouth only to close it back. He tried again. "I-…. Naruto… I'm so sorry." His voice was just a whisper, and he couldn't look Naruto in the eye.
Suddenly, Naruto became angry. "Shut up! You're lying! How could yo-!"
"I'm not lying." Kakashi soft voice cut through. He brought up his visible eye to look into Naruto's own, clouded with pity. "Jiraiya's dead, Naruto." Kakashi's heart ached as he watched Naruto's fiery eyes dull and his eyebrows become scrunched in pain.
"You're lying." Naruto breathed out, protesting one last time. Kakashi opened his mouth to respond, but Naruto didn't want to hear it. He ran. He ignored the calls of his name behind him. He ran faster when he heard his sensei come after him. He ran, and he ran, and he ran. Naruto didn't stop when his breathing became labored; Naruto didn't stop when a stitch made itself known in his side; Naruto didn't stop until he collapsed, his body no longer able to keep up.
He curled up into a ball right there on the ground where he had fallen. His mind was clear of all thoughts, unable to process the information. Naruto's eyes blankly circled the area that his feet had brought him to. The Yondaime's Head. Jiraiya's student.
...
Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he heard a giggle beside him. He sighed and sank deeper into the hot springs. They had just come back from three days of non-stop training and Naruto was enjoying his relax- Another perverted giggle disrupted his thought. His eyebrow twitched again as he opened his eyes to glare at the perpetrator. The man was shamelessly looking through a small opening in the wall between the men and women's hot springs.
"Ne ne, Naruto! Lookie! Look at all these beauties!" The man gave off yet another giggle and Naruto's whole body gave off a rather violent twitch.
"STOP PEEPING INTO THE WOMEN'S BATHS YOU ERO-SENNIN!" The reaction was immediate. Shouts of indignation and cries for blood were heard from the women's side of the hot springs as they all rushed into the shelter of the locker room.
"Naruto, no~! You made all of them run away!" Jiraiya started crying and Naruto was pleased with himself. He sank back into the water with a smile on his face, closing his eyes in relaxation. He ignored the crying man beside him.
...
Ero-Sennin.
...
"Not fast enough!" Jiraiya blocked a kick aimed for his head with his forearm. He used his free hand to grab the offending foot and swung the attached person at a tree.
"Shimatta!" Naruto quickly turned his body around and landed his feet on the trunk. He used the momentum and with the help of chakra he shot back out quickly, his fist cocked back. Jiraiya was obviously surprised as he didn't move to block and the clenched hand impacted harshly with his nose. Naruto landed, rolling back up to his feet. They both stood, shock written over both of their faces. Then Jiraiya smiled and wiped the blood from his now broken nose.
"Good job Gaki." He ruffled Naruto's hair when his clean hand. That was the first blow Naruto had ever gotten on him.
...
Jiraiya-sensei.
...
Jiraiya zipped up the front of Naruto's jacket from behind. He moved his hand to Naruto's arm so said boy could get a good look at himself in the mirror. "What do you think? It has many pockets, a lot more than you will probably ever want or need, it has protective chained armor sewn in it that is light enough to not cause any problems, and as an added bonus: it's mostly orange!" Jiraiya smiled at Naruto in the mirror.
"It's amazing Ero-Sennin! How much is it going to cost me?" He knew better than to ask the older man to buy anything for him. The man was so anal about his money despite how much he makes from his books.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I got this one." Jiraiya gave a big grin to the stunned Naruto and walked over to the cashier. He saw Jiraiya point to him and start writing a check. He walked over to the check out as Jiraiya handed over the check.
"Thanks Ero-Sennin!" Naruto grinned up at him.
"Don't mention it Gaki." As he grabbed the receipt from the cashier, Naruto got a glimpse of the price. His eyes widened in shock.
'61,000 yen? [AN: About $701.39 USD] For just one outfit! Holy shit!'
"Come on Gaki!" Naruto realized he was being left behind.
"M-matte!" He ran outside to catch up with Jiraiya. He looked up to the man as they walked expecting Jiraiya to tell him that he had to pay him back. When the man didn't say anything he realized something: Jiraiya knew that he would never be able to afford something with such good quality like this. He smiled softly to himself. "Arigatou, Jiraiya." He ran ahead, not bothering to look at the frozen man behind him.
...
Jiraiya.
...
Naruto sat on the bench, waiting for his sensei to be done with…. whatever it was he was doing. He sighed and glanced at the people around him, landing on a father and son. The young boy sat on his father's shoulders, maybe six or so in age. He pointed at a Popsicle stand excitedly and tapped his father on the head, probably asking for one. The man grinned down at his son and walked them over the seller, buying a single two-piece Popsicle. He broke it in half and handed one to his son with a smile on his face. The boy almost fell of his father's shoulders in excitement as he grabbed the sweet treat and they continued down the road.
Naruto didn't even notice that he was staring at them with longing until a familiar figure stepped into his sight. "Ero-Sennin~! I've been waiting here for hours!" He stood up from the bench, not noticing the item in Jiraiya's hand.
"Here!" An object was shoved in his face. It was half of a double Popsicle. He absentmindedly grabbed it and looked at the man confusedly.
"What-?"
"Maa, maa. I was wanting a sweet treat and I couldn't possibly finish it on my own so I decided to split it with you." Sure enough Jiraiya was licking at his own orange flavored Popsicle as they started to walk out of the small village.
"Oh…" Naruto blinked in wonder. "Thanks Ero-Sennin." He didn't find out until much later that Jiraiya hated cold things; especially Popsicles.
...
Jiraiya-oji-san.
...
How could he have died? He's Jiraiya of the Sennin! He isn't supposed to die! He was supposed to live to see him become Hokage! He was supposed to live to become his old, cranky, senile advisor, demanding impossible and ludicrous things of him! He wasn't supposed to die in battle! He was supposed to die by severe beating from Tsunade herself after he'd been caught peeping! He was supposed to die of blood loss from a nosebleed! He was supposed to die when Naruto was old, when he himself couldn't move without help due to old age! Jiraiya wasn't supposed to die. He wasn't supposed to…
Naruto choked on a sob as it finally hit him. Jiraiya was dead. Jiraiya had been murdered. He was never coming back. Naruto was never going to see him again. No more yelling matches. No more subtle acts of kindness covered up with seeming selfishness. No more gazing at the stars in quiet content. No more-
Naruto screamed. He choked on the air, unable to pull any back into his lungs. He cried and he curled into a tighter ball, hugging his knees to his chest. The distraught blonde rocked himself back and forth as he laid there crying his eyes out and screaming to a god that he didn't believe in. Why Jiraiya? Why him?
Naruto didn't know how long he laid there crying, but it was enough time that he realized he needed to get back home before the Uchiha's began to wonder where he was. He knew better than to think that they would be worried. Naruto forced his unresponsive body to stand up and start walking. All he wanted to do was lay down and sleep forever. But the Uchiha's wouldn't survive on their own. Who would clean up after them and make sure their house didn't become so messy that simply walking around in it was a possible danger? Who would make their food and make sure that they didn't starve or poison themselves with their own cooking?
By the time Naruto made it back to the Uchiha Compound, he had managed to will his cries down to quiet, choked sobs. He walked into the dark house, taking off his shoes and making his way upstairs. The living room and kitchen were probably a mess, but he just didn't have the energy to deal with that right now. He stopped at his and Sasuke's room momentarily before quietly making his way in.
Naruto walked back into the house and grabbed his shoes. "Itachi! Sasuke! I'm going out for a second! I shouldn't be long so don't wait up! Oyasumi!"
Sasuke heard the door close behind the blonde. He shoved the drunk Karin off his side, making her hit the floor with a thud, and stood up. He sneered at the passed out Suigetsu as he walked over to the sober Juugo. Juugo and Naruto were the only two who had not touched a single drop of alcohol; Itachi had quite a few drinks, showing that he had a high tolerance to the stuff, and he himself had had one or two saucers of sake while the rest drunk without qualms, though Iruka was mostly forced into it.
"Oi, Juugo. Take these drunkards back to your house." With that command, Sasuke walked up the stairs to his room, not bothering to check and see if it was actually followed or not. Sasuke stripped himself of his clothing as he headed for his private bathroom. He took a quick shower, threw on some boxers and jumped into bed.
He immediately woke up when he felt a presence right outside his bedroom door. He opened his eyes to look outside and estimated that he couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour. He heard the door creak open behind him and quiet footsteps walk into the room. Sasuke relaxed his body, closing his eyes and taking slow, deep breaths to feign sleep. He really didn't feel like dealing with a hyper Naru-
….
Was that a sob he heard? He waited a few more moments, only hearing the shuffling of feet and clothing. Maybe it was his imagina-Wait! There it was again. It was obviously strangled as if he was trying to be quiet. Sasuke didn't know what to do. He's never had to deal with stuff like this before and he never had a desire to.
"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice wavered as he called out his name quietly to see if he was awake. Sasuke didn't even flinch, continuing to act asleep. Naruto crawled into the bed and scooted close to him. The blonde rested his back against his own and his body jumped with a choked sob, making the bed move.
Sasuke opened his eyes and stared out the window. His body and the bed jumped occasionally with Naruto's sobs as he laid there. When it slowed down to shaky, slow breaths, Sasuke turned around to face Naruto. He sat up slightly so as to see Naruto's face. The blond was curled up into a protective ball, his hands curled beneath his tear stained face. His eyebrows were scrunched up and his lips were quivering, letting out an occasional whimper in his sleep. Sasuke pursed his lips and lay back down on his side. He pressed his back against Naruto's, awkwardly trying to give the boy some comfort in his sleep. The raven drifted back into oblivion.
When Naruto woke up he woke up faster than usual, though it was still a slow process. He heard the sound of a heartbeat first, probably his own. Then he heard the sound of wind blowing through the empty trees; the birds avoided the Uchiha Compound like the plague for some reason. He opened his eyes to see that the sun had started rising not too long ago, the sky was still stained a soft orange. Naruto didn't move, too comfortable with where he was at. He remained that way for a while before blinking and taking in a deep breath, letting it out slowly in one big sigh. When a sigh responded him, he scrunched his eyebrows. He had gone slightly up and down with that returning sigh. And are pillows supposed to breathe?
He shifted his head up only to stare right into Sasuke's sleeping face. Only then did he realize the position he was in. His head was resting on Sasuke's chest, one arm thrown over the raven's stomach, the other underneath him; both were slightly clutching the Uchiha's skin. Naruto's stomach was pressed up closely to the Sasuke's side, and said brunette had an arm lightly encircling his waist. One of Sasuke's legs was entangled with both of his own, and all in all, they were pretty close together. Naruto turned his head around to see that they were on Sasuke's side of the bed so that meant that Naruto was the one to begin the unconscious snuggle session. When his initial fit of panic passed, he put his head back down on Sasuke's chest and just laid there with his eyes closed.
For some reason, he really didn't want to get up at the moment. He felt that if he did he would break into a million pieces, never to be put back together again. He searched his mind, trying to figure out while he was feeling this way. Then, what happened to him yesterday hit him like one of Tsunade's punches. His fingers clutched Sasuke's skin, waking the boy up. He felt Sasuke stiffen up underneath him when the raven realized the position they were in and he tightened his hold.
"Just a few more minutes." Naruto spoke in a whisper. "Please, just…" He dug his nails into Sasuke's skin, desperate for Sasuke's assent. After a few minutes of silence, the Uchiha slightly relaxed underneath him and he loosened up his hold. He knew that Sasuke was entirely uncomfortable with the situation, but for some reason was allowing it and for that he was grateful.
"Jiraiya's dead, Naruto."
Kakashi's words floated back into his mind. Naruto's hand grasped Sasuke's side, pulling him even closer, hugging him to his body and he buried his face in Sasuke's chest. Unwillingly, a single tear escaped from his eye, landing on Sasuke's chest. He slightly jumped with he felt a hand touch his back, the hand retreated immediately afterwards.
"No, it's okay." He said quietly. The hand returned much more hesitant this time. Slowly and awkwardly, the hand began to move up and down on his bare back. He laughed wetly at Sasuke's clumsy attempts to comfort him.
"What's so funny, Dobe?" Naruto could tell that Sasuke was scowling without having to even look, but Naruto knew that there was no bite in that sentence.
"Nothing, Teme." Naruto laid there for a few more seconds before letting go of his friend and sitting up on his knees. He stared down at Sasuke who was still on his back, his bottom half still covered with the blankets. Had Naruto not been pressed up against him not just a few moments ago, he'd question Sasuke's state of dress. Naruto spotted a wet mark on the raven's chest. "Thank you."
Sasuke's eyes watched Naruto's hand as it wiped away the wet stain on his chest and return to the blonde's lap. "Hn."
Naruto gave a tiny grin. "Such a Teme response." Sasuke rolled his eyes and got out of bed. He stretched his muscles as he walked towards the bathroom to do his daily rituals. Naruto followed soon after.
Itachi noticed that breakfast was quieter than normal. I mean sure, the Uchiha's were never a talkative bunch but usually Naruto would try to get them into a conversation or at least he would babble listlessly; anything to get rid of the silence. He slowed down his eating as he watched the two younger boys. Naruto was eating at a much slower pace than usual. At this rate, he and his otouto would be finished before him. Naruto generally would finish before them and start on the dishes, Itachi would follow soon after, then Sasuke. But at this rate, Naruto was going to finish last. Itachi put his fork down and gave a small, unnoticeable frown in Naruto's direction.
Both Naruto and Sasuke looked up at the sound of metal clinking against glass. Itachi was such a proper eater, he normally would never allow such a sound to come from his plate.
"What?" Naruto asked when he realized that Itachi was just staring at him.
Itachi's eyes searched Naruto's face more thoroughly now that he could see the entirety of it. Nothing seemed out of place, no frown lines, no worried eyebrows, nothing. But his eyes… Naruto's eyes were so dull.
"Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" Though the question hinted at worry, there was no emotion in his voice.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Of course!" He gave Itachi a flawless smile, making the man's frown become more apparent. "Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto fidgeted when the older man's gaze became more intense.
Sasuke stood up, gaining their attention, and walked over to the sink. They watched as he cleaned, dried and put away his plate and utensils. "I'm going out back." Sasuke muttered as he walked passed them into the living room.
"Maa, I'm done too." Naruto threw away the rest of his food into the trash can and put his dishes in the sink. "I'll do the dishes later Itachi, don't worry about them." He walked passed the oldest Uchiha. "I'll be up in my- Sasuke's room if you need me."
Now, Itachi knew something was wrong. For one, Sasuke never finished first, even when they were children. Second, Naruto absolutely hated wasting food. And thirdly, Naruto hated a dirty house. He always glared at them when they said they'd clean up their mess later. Itachi needed answers.
Sasuke punched at the training log in front of him. He knew his knuckles were starting to bleed but he paid them no attention. He heard the door slide open behind him and almost silent footsteps walk towards him. He knew it was Itachi and he knew he only heard him because Itachi wanted him to. He punched the log violently one last time before letting his arms fall to his side.
"What do you want?" He asked when he felt his aniki stop behind him. Silence answered him. It stretched on for so long that Sasuke thought he wasn't going to get an answer. He turned around and opened his mouth to ask again but was cut off.
"Are you alright, Otouto?"
Sasuke scowled. "Of course Aniki." The word was spit out like a curse. "Why wouldn't I be? My world is just dandy." Sasuke knew his anger was unfounded but he just couldn't figure it out. He hated being confused.
Itachi's fingers rose, and before Sasuke could stop them, they tapped him on the forehead the way Itachi always used to do when they were children. He knew what was going to happen next.
"You're going to get wrinkles if you don't stop scowling."
There were only two things that Itachi said after doing that depending on the situation. When he was angry, Itachi would tell him he'd get wrinkles. And when he was sad, he'd tell him that he was sorry and that they'd have to do it another time.
For some odd reason, instead of making him angry and bringing back painful memories of the past, this calmed him down. But, just like old times, he scowled harder and rubbed fiercely at the spot on his forehead where he knew a slight pink mark was going to form.
"Nothing's wrong. Don't worry about it." Sasuke muttered.
Itachi didn't want to push the matter, they had only just started to mend their relationship after all, but there was obviously something going on. "Did something happen between you and Naruto-kun?" He noticed how they avoiding looking at each other and he knew he was right when Sasuke slightly stiffened.
"It's none of your business." Sasuke hissed and turned back around to the log.
"I believe it is my business, Otouto." Sasuke turned back around to make a scathing remark. "We are family after all." Sasuke stiffened when his words were thrown back at him. He narrowed his eyes.
"I'll tell you if you tell me what's wrong with you." It was only fair after all.
"Do not change the subject-"
"It's not changing the subject. You said we were family and that's why you deserved an answer. I said the same thing a couple of weeks ago but never got an answer. Why should I tell you when you won't tell me?"
"Because it is no longer a problem whereas yours is obviously a problem."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes even further. He couldn't detect a lie in that sentence. "Whatever." He went back to training.
Itachi knew when he had pushed it too far. He nodded his head. "Very well." He walked back inside.
He laid there on his bathroom floor, pressing his hot forehead to the cool tile beneath him. His body jerked with tremors. His breathing was heavy and wet. He felt something build up in his throat. A hand grabbed the side of the toilet seat, dragging his aching body up and threw up the contents of his throat.
'It's getting worse.' So far he had been able to hide it from his brother and Naruto, but he doesn't think that that will be possible anymore.
He sat his back against the bathtub and set his head back on the edge, looking up at the ceiling. He gave a rueful smile. He knew that he was going to die soon. He had planned to die before this disease ate his body but the gods apparently just liked the fuck with him and he was given a second chance. Too bad that second chance was coming to an end.
'... It's so dark...'
"Itachi!" He heard a voice call for him from outside his room but he couldn't bring himself to answer.
'... I can't breathe...'
"Itachi! Are you in there?" He knew the voice was asking something else, but he couldn't hear it anymore.
"Itachi!" Naruto walked up the stairs. "Itachi!" He knocked on the man's door. "Are you in there? Itachi?" He knocked again and waited for a reply. He frowned to himself; he knew that Itachi was in there because he wasn't anywhere else in the house. "Itachi? Lunch is ready." Once again there was no response. "Itachi, I'm coming in." He reached for the door knob, only to find it locked. Naruto panicked. "Itachi? Are you okay? Itachi! SASUKE!"
He ran down stairs. "Sasuke!" Naruto found him in the dining room. "Sasuke! Something's wrong with Itachi! He won't answer and his door is locked!"
Sasuke frowned, Itachi never locked his door. He ran up to the room. "Itachi?" He knocked hard. No answer. "Itachi, if you don't open this door, I'm knocking it down." If that didn't get a response, nothing would. He stepped back. "Look out Dobe." He brought his leg up and used his strength to kick open the door. It slammed on the wall behind it and swung back but Sasuke caught it before it could close back. "Itach-"
His voice cut off when he saw blood on the desk next to Itachi's bed. There was a trail of bloody drops going into his private bathroom.
"ITACHI!" Naruto ran to the bathroom. "ITACHI?" Naruto hoped to the gods that he wasn't behind the door. He brought his leg up and kicked the locked bathroom door open. He gasped. "Itachi!" The man was propped up against the bathtub. His head was bowed forwards, his bangs covering most of his face. His arms and legs were limp and unmoving, as was his chest. There was copious amounts of blood in the sink, on the floors and in the toilet.
Naruto ran forward, putting a hand up to Itachi's face. He didn't feel any breath. He put a hand up to his neck. There was a pulse, but it was erratic and slowing. "Sasuke, go tell the ANBU that Itachi needs medical help! Tell them to get Tsunade!" He looked at Sasuke who was frozen in the doorway. "Sasuke! Are you just going to let him die after saving him! GO!" Sasuke jerked and ran out.
Naruto gently laid Itachi down and started performing CPR. If Naruto ever learned anything from his medic teammate, it was basic healing. "Come. On. I. Ta. Chi." He accented each syllable with a press on Itachi's chest.
"They're coming." Sasuke was out of breath as he came back in.
Naruto lifted his mouth from Itachi's and started to press his hand on the man's chest once more. "Go get some towels. Wet one with cool water and the others with warm water." He tried mouth to mouth resuscitation again, ignoring the blood that was getting in and on his mouth. When Itachi's mouth started to open up wider, he immediately pulled away and turned the man's head to the side. Itachi coughed up blood to add in with the already bloody bathroom.
"Now what?" Sasuke was back with a few towels. He looked a bit sick, but Naruto couldn't deal with that at the moment. He had more pressing matters.
"Give me the cold one and a warm one. Use the others to start cleaning up all this blood. There's really nothing else we can do for him until Obaa-chan gets here." Naruto used the warm towel to clean up the blood on Itachi's face as he coughed up more blood and placed the cool one on his forehead.
"I'm here! Move!" Tsunade barged in. Naruto immediately got out of the way.
"He wasn't breathing when we found him. I told Sasuke to go inform the ANBU that you were needed while I performed CPR. He only just started breathing. I had to move him onto his back since he was sitting up but I didn't want to move him any further just in case it would cause more problems.
Tsunade nodded at the information and continued the check up on Itachi's lungs. It was obviously the problem considering that he was coughing up blood. She knew she should've done a check up on them when they first came in. She gasped when she found what was wrong. "We need to get him to the hospital now. Naruto, can you carry him? There's not enough time to get a stretcher from the hospital and if I stop healing him for even a moment his chances of living will go down considerably." Naruto's eyes widened but he nodded. "Good, now you have to be extremely careful while carrying him. You don't understand the importance of this. You mustn't jar his body in any way, understand?"
Naruto nodded once more and began to careful pick up the wounded man; Tsunade's healing hands never left his chest. "Stay here Sas-"
"No. I'm coming."
Naruto glared at the man as he stood up, his small frame dwarfed by the man in his chakra enhanced arms. "Sasuke-"
"Shut up! We don't have time! Just let him come! Now go!" Naruto pursed his lips but made his was out of the house and to the hospital as quickly and as carefully as he could.
Naruto and Sasuke sat outside of the operation room. The light above the door was red, signaling that no one was to come in. They could hear the shouts and sounds of large amounts of chakra floating in the room. Doctors and nurses were continuously going in and out of the room, some of them looking pale and exhausted. Kakashi stood next to them, his famous book in his hands. Sakura had been needed to help Tsunade out and Kakashi had been with her at the time. When Kakashi had heard what was going on, he hurried over here along with Sakura.
A ringing sound echoed in the room. "Shit!" Tsunade's voice was heard. "Get the defibrillator! Charge it to 100 joules! Clear!" Naruto paled when he realized what that meant: Itachi's heart had stopped. "Charge it up to 150 joules! Clear!" He felt a hand on his shoulder; he looked up to see Kakashi standing next to him, his book put away. "200 joules! Clear!" The beeping started up again.
"Hiro! What do you think you are doing! Get the fuck out of my operating room!" A man was shoved out through the double doors but an irate pink haired iryounin. "Go get someone more competent!" She ran back inside.
This went on for another hour. In that time, Itachi's heart had stopped a total of five times. Each time, Sasuke and Naruto held their breath, leaning on each other for support. Finally, Tsunade and Sakura stepped out of the room. Sakura gave them a weak smile and sat down in between them and leaned heavily against Naruto.
"He'll be alright for the moment. I can give him a temporary medicine, but it won't work for long. I've never seen anything like this." Tsunade shook her head. "Something is eating at his lungs and heart. It's messing with his whole system. I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed in pain from simply walking. Sealing his chakra did more harm than good in this case so we had to lift the seals. His chakra was helping in prolonging his life, though it wasn't able to actually fix the problem. I'll have to talk to him when he regains consciousness and I need to do some research. The medicine I'll give him will help with the pain and will help his chakra stall the disease for the meantime. I'll have to find a cure within that time; otherwise he'll die within the month. I'm sorry."
Sasuke just stared at the operating room's doors. He didn't say anything or give any indication that he had heard what Tsunade had said. Tsunade's eye twitched.
"Okay." Naruto's voice was quiet but it caught the Hokage's attention. He gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Obaa-san."
Tsunade gave him a small smile in return. "You're welcome, Gaki. Now, you should go home and-"
"No." Tsunade really didn't like Sasuke. "No, I'll stay here."
"Listen here gaki." She spat out the word 'brat' like a curse. "You can't stay here-"
"Please, Obaa-san. I'll stay too and make sure that they don't do anything. Please." Naruto looked up at her pleadingly and she knew that she couldn't resist such a face.
"Bah-whatever. Do whatever you want. Just make sure they don't do anything stupid alright or else it'll be your ass on the line, got it?" Naruto nodded. "Come on, Sakura. Let's get you home." Tsunade helped the half asleep girl up. "They should be taking Itachi to a room in a few moments." Naruto nodded and she began to walk away, Sakura in hand.
Naruto jerked awake, wondering why he woke up so suddenly. He looked around the hospital room, settling on the figure of Kakashi. He opened his mouth to ask why he had been woken up but Kakashi put a finger to his lips and tilted his head to the side. Naruto looked over to see Itachi still asleep in the bed. His skin was no longer sickly and was back to its usual pale color. Sasuke was asleep in the chair beside him, his head propped up by his arm. There were bags under his eyes. Naruto looked back up to Kakashi and nodded, getting up from the couch he had been sleeping on.
"What's up?" He asked when they closed the door behind him.
"We need you to come to the Hokage Tower."
"Now?"
"Now."
Naruto scrunched his face up. "Alright." He was already dressed anyways. Though he was lacking in hygiene since he hadn't' showered since the day before due to Itachi's emergency. "Let's go then." The trip was fairly quiet, Naruto unwilling to talk to Kakashi at all and Kakashi feeling to timid to talk to Naruto. It was still too soon.
"What'cha need Baa-chan?" He noticed that Sakura and Shizune were present in the room and Kakashi had stayed. There was a tiny frog in a seat type thing that was on top of another, larger frog.
"So this is Jiraiya-chan's apprentice?" The smaller frog asked. Naruto flinched at the name.
"Yes, this is Uzumaki Naruto. He's probably the 'Child of Prophecy' you were talking about." Tsunade looked to Naruto. "This is Fukasaku, one of the two great sages of Mount Myobokuzan. He came to talk with you."
"Actually, I'm one of the two great sage frogs. But more importantly, there's no doubt that you're Jiraiya-chan's apprentice now, is there?"
Naruto practically glared at the frog. "Jiraiya isn-wasn't 'little.' He was a great man who did many things to help our village.
"Watch your language Naruto! This is Jiraiya's sensei, the one who taught him his Sage Jutsus."
Naruto turned his glare on the woman he called a grandmother. "Shut up! You were the one who sent him, aren't you!"
Tsunade pursed her lips. "I did." Her voice was quiet.
"Why did you let him go? You know how he is! How could you send him into danger all alone?"
"Shut it, Naruto. You must know how she feels." Kakashi broke in. Naruto grit his teeth and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
Naruto paused with his hand on the door knob at Sakura's question. "If Ero-Sennin had been made the Godaime Hokage… Then Tsunade wouldn't have forced him to do this… I know it." He slammed the door shut behind him.
"Naruto!"
"It's alright Sakura. Let him be alone for a while." Sakura looked at Tsunade piteously.
"I'm sorry Fukasaku. Maybe you can speak to Naruto another time?" Kakashi asked the frog.
"Yes, that's fine. But I need to show you all something." He turned around and took off the cloak that was covering him. "Jiraiya-chan left behind this message. I don't know what to do with it. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Tsunade nodded. "Yes, we'll have someone take a picture of it, that way you don't have to stay." Fukasaku nodded. "Call in Shikamaru. I need to get some fresh air for a moment." Kakashi nodded and left to go get the lazy brunette. She stood up and walked out of her office. She stopped in a deserted hallway and slammed her fist onto the wall, using it to help her stand.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Jiraiya!" A young white haired genin stuck out his hand for her to shake. "You can send me a love letter later!"
"Baka…" A tear made its way down her cheek.
Naruto could hear the murmur of voices through Itachi's hospital room door, indicating that they were both awake. Naruto was about to walk in when he caught the end of Sasuke's sentence.
"-er fine." There was a moment of silence. "Why won't you answer me?"
"I'm sorry."
"'I'm sorry?' That's all you have to say?" Naruto could tell that Sasuke wanted so badly to shout at the man in the bed. "'Oh! It's not like I died five times on the operating table or anything, but I'm sorry about lying to you about my health!'" Sasuke mocked him.
"There was nothing that you could have done. There is no cure for this disease."
"Bullshit! We have the best fuckin' medic in the world here and you think that she couldn't find a cure? Fuck Itachi! Do you not think?"
"She will not be able to find a-"
"Shut up! Shut up, Itachi! Don't you dare fuckin' say it! I swear to the gods I'll kill you right now if you say it! I saved you and there's no way that you're going to die on me because of some stupid disease, do you hear me? I can't lose you, I lo-!" Sasuke caught himself. There were a few moments of silence.
"I love you too, Otouto. I promise, I won't die because of this." There was a soft sound of flesh lightly hitting flesh. "You're going to get wrinkles if you don't stop scowling."
There was a watery chuckle from Sasuke. "Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't be talking Aniki." There was another period of silence. "… I love you, too." Sasuke's voice was a whisper. ( 1 )
Naruto stepped back from the door. His heart hurt. He didn't know how much more it could take. The blonde began to walk out of the hospital. First the news of Jiraiya's death. That had hurt him more than anything else in the world. His teacher, his father figure, dead. Then Itachi almost died. That had scared the shit out of him. Over these past few weeks of living with Itachi, he had grown to like the man. Not only that, but the Uchiha's had only just began to mend their relationship. It would be heart breaking to see all their efforts go to waste. And lastly, this had happened. Finally Sasuke and Itachi were starting to leave him behind. He knew that this was going to happen, he had been preparing himself for the moment that Sasuke realized that he was no longer needed as a 'brother' in his life.
It was dark when he found himself outside. Already, a full day had passed him by. People were quickly making their way inside, shops were closing, and only a few were up and about. Naruto walked down the street, absentmindedly looking at the few open stands. He stopped when he saw an open Popsicle Stand. He walked over to the man who was about to close. He bought an orange double Popsicle and sat down on a bench in the now abandoned street.
He watched at the Popsicle started to melt, orange drops landing on the ground. Then a clear one joined it. 'It must have started raining.' But he knew that there was no rain tonight.
"Naruto…" A hesitant voice called out. He felt someone sit down next to him but he didn't look away from the melting Popsicle in his hands. "I heard…. about Jiraiya…" Naruto didn't say anything for awhile.
"I wanted…. him to always watch me…" Naruto admitted. "I wanted him to see me become Hokage… All he ever was me being totally uncool… and I…"
"Jiraiya always praised you." Naruto startled and finally looked up to Iruka. "He spoke proudly of you, as if you were his own grandson. He believed you would take his place. He never doubted you would become a great Hokage." This was news to Naruto. "He was always watching you… Even now, he still is somewhere. He wouldn't praise you just to try and cheer you up when you're down. So," Iruka grabbed the sweet treat out of his hands and broke it in half, "just be the same old you he could always praise. You can't stay depressed forever! You're the awesome apprentice of one of the Sennin." Iruka handed one half to Naruto.
"…. Arigatou… Iruka-sensei."
The next morning, Naruto heard a knock at the door. He had come back to the Uchiha Compound alone, leaving the two Uchiha at the hospital. After he informed the former Team Hebi what was going on, he headed straight for bed. There was another knock on the door.
"…Shikamaru?" He had obviously startled the lazy boy when he opened the door so abruptly. "What do you want?"
"Can I come in?"
Naruto opened the door the rest of the way and showed him to the living room. He sat down on the couch and waited for Shikamaru to do the same. "What?"
Shikamaru opened a jacket pocket and pulled out a picture. He handed it over to Naruto. "This is Jiraiya's last message. We can't seem to crack the code and we were hoping that you could figure it out since you stayed with him for three years. So, what do you think? It ring any bells?"
Naruto stared blankly at the photo of a frogs burned back. 'Ero-Sennin's last message… ne?'
"Oi, Naruto. What do you think?"
Naruto snapped out of his revere. "Oh, sorry! Sorry. So, what were you saying?"
Shikamaru stared at him for a long while before sighing and standing back up. "Come with me."
Naruto looked up at the hospital questioningly. They had been standing there for a couple of minutes. Just when as he turned to Shikamaru to ask what they were doing, the lazy brunette perked up.
"Oh, here she comes."
Naruto turned back to the hospital entrance. "K-Kurenai?" He pointed at the woman. "Did you eat too much Yakiniku and have to go to the hospital? Your belly's fatter'n Chouji's!"
"It's a baby, not Yakiniku." Shikamaru sighed. "Mendokuse. You're such a pain in the ass."
Naruto was surprised. 'A baby? She's pregnant?' Naruto had never been allowed near pregnant women, much less children.
Kurenai chuckled. "Stop coming here everyday, Shikamaru." She reprimanded the boy.
Shikamaru laughed. "I can't do that. Asuma asked me to." Kurenai and Shikamaru talked for a little while longer before Kurenai said she had to go. She turned to Naruto to see him staring at her stomach. She smiled.
"You want to feel her kick?"
Naruto looked up at Kurenai startled. "It-It's a girl?" ( 2 )
Kurenai chuckled. "Yes, I'm going to name her Emi because she is my beautiful blessing from the gods. ( 3 ) Do you want to feel her kick?" Before Naruto could protest, she grabbed his hand and put it to her stomach. She laughed at the terrified face Naruto was sure he was making. "Feel that?" Indeed Naruto did. "She's saying 'Hello.'"
Naruto looked on in wonder as he felt Emi kick his hand a few more times. He smiled up at Kurenai who gave one in return. When Kurenai let go of his hand, he pulled it back, almost wishing that she didn't have to go.
"I'll see you around Shikamaru, Naruto." They waved her goodbye.
"That kid'll be my apprentice. Asuma entrusted me with her." There was a small moment of silence. "I heard about Jiraiya." Naruto didn't say anything. "I lost my sensei too, so don't think that I don't know what you're going through. You'll never get anywhere if you keep dicking around." Naruto glared at him. "You're not in the position to do that anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Asuma-sensei entrusted me with a lot, from big things to little things. It's the same for you… And unlimited number of things. Don't you think it's about time for us?" Shikamaru asked.
"Time for what?"
"To be the ones who entrust, not the entrusted. It's a pain in the ass, but I can't say 'mendokuse.' Some day you'll be the one treating others to ramen, and you'll be called 'Naruto-sensei.' We can't stay kids forever." Shikamaru winked at Naruto with a smirk on his face. "Like Asuma and Jiraiya, I want to be as cool as them. Now, you've gotta get a hold of yourself… You've got things to do."
Naruto smiled in return. Shikamaru was right. He couldn't be depressed right now; he can think about his own problems later. He had things to do.
( 1 ) Where Sasuke and Itachi tell each other 'I love you' in the hospital.
-Okay, so as everyone knows a tragedy, especially an almost death, brings people much closer together. They still aren't that far into mending their relationship but they can at least tell each other they love each other that one time. I assure you, they won't be saying it again any time soon.
( 2 ) "You want to feel her kick?" / Naruto looked up at her startled. "It-It's a girl?"
-Yes, I made Kurenai and Asuma's child a girl. I don't know if it's actually going to be a girl or not or whatever. But (OMG) just checked it out on Narutopedia (an amazing site BTW) and it says that in an interview, Kishimoto said that he was thinking of making their child a girl. :P
( 3 ) Kurenai chuckled. "Yes, I'm going to name her Emi because she is my beautiful blessing from the gods."
-Emi- 恵(e) "blessing, favor" or 絵(e) "picture" combined with 美(mi) "beautiful." So, she is a "beautiful blessing."
OKAY~! SO HERE'S THE NEXY CHAPPIE~! I used some parts from Canon simply 'cause it fit. I hope you enjoyed it!
Also, I haven't started on the next chapter of UNAI (for those of you who read my other story) but I will be working on it today and if I don't finish it today then tomorrow as well. So expect it within the next two days!