I sincerely apologize for the utmost crappiness of the last chapter and for the tardiness of my update. I have been so busy, plus I've been grounded so I only get computer time for ten minutes, so it hasn't been easy for me at all. Add that to another long hospital visit and one nasty English teacher and you've got my hectic life. Well, hopefully this chapter will be better than the last.
Disclaimer: I shall never own Naruto, but I do have a Naruto blanket. Yay for me!!
Chapter 8. Stranger
When Naruto awoke, he found himself looking down a long dark tunnel. He looked up and a drop of water splashed his cheek.
'What's...going on...? Why am I here again?' he thought as he began to walk, tracing his hand along the mildew-covered walls to guide him through the opaque darkness.
He noticed then that the hallway seemed to be trembling. He could feel the slimy walls vibrate beneath his hand. Swallowing nervously, he continued walking until he came to a fork. Some instinct guided him to go right, so he turned and kept going until he came to another turn. This time he went left.
'Why do the walls keep moving? It sounds like a giant snoring in here. Whoa...I always forget how big it is.'
Before Naruto's eyes stood an enormous cage. A curious-looking piece of paper decorated the entrance, sealing it shut. Some strange kanji was written on it but he was too far away to recognize any of the characters.
"It's like a giant animal cage," he whispered to himself.
His voice echoed loudly, resounding through the room. Just then Naruto felt another vibration, only this time it sounded like someone was laughing. Frightened, he turned to leave, but just then a voice called out to him from beyond the cage doors.
"Help...me...help me." it whispered.
"Kyuubi-chan?" Naruto replied fearfully.
He was afraid. He didn't like Kyuubi-chan very much. His other personality could be scary and unpredictable sometimes. He was oftentimes mean and violent. He didn't like violence very much. He had seen too much of it in his young life already.
'Is Kyuubi trying to play a trick on me?'
"Naruto!" the voice was sudden, sharper than shrapnel, and full of disapproval.
It sounded like his father's voice. Naruto flinched, tried to run, but something made him freeze in place. Someone was touching him. Someone's hand was tracing itself down his back, over the bandages that covered his scars.
"No... Don't." he whimpered softly.
Just then a white-hot flash of pain ricocheted through him as the bandages were ripped forcefully from his back.
"Daddy, no. IpromiseI'llbegood. Idon'twantthecloset. Iwasgood,wasn'tI?"
"No, Naruto. You weren't good."
Naruto tried to twist his head so he could see the man he called "Daddy", but his attempt was met with a slap that resounded through the large room.
"Kyuubi, help me!" he moaned as his pants were yanked down, catching on the bandages and causing him even more agony. He received no response from his other personality, who remained silent. He fell to the ground and his sensitive ears picked up on the sound of a zipper coming undone. Then something warm and wet was placed against him.
"NO!" Naruto cried.
He squirmed as hard as he could, trying to get away. He was able to turn his head slightly and caught a glimpse of a man with long black hair and snake-yellow eyes. Then he was forced down to the ground, cheek pressed roughly into an inch of water. Some of it got in his nose and he sputtered, gasping for breath.
'No...It's him...How did find me? I ran so far away.'
"NO!" he shouted again. "I have real parents now. I don't need you. Go away!"
"Naruto, Naruto wake up!" a familiar voice called to him.
It sounded so warm and loving, Naruto wanted to go towards it. He wanted out of the nightmare realm he was in. Wanted away from the man who was trying to hurt him the way he'd been hurt so many times before.
"If you leave, I'll find you. I'll hunt you down and I'll kill you!" the man whispered, grabbing Naruto by the front of his shirt and picking him up. Naruto saw that the man was naked from the waist down and looked away.
"You d-don't have anything to do with me a-anymore. Go away. Get out of my head!" Naruto replied, feet still dangling off the ground.
'He's not real. He's not real. He's not real. Open your eyes. You have to open your eyes.'
Naruto squinted his eyes shut and opened them again. The world leered at him blurrily at him from all sides. He blinked rapidly, trying to get ride of the fuzz. Finally, he saw familiar face leaning in towards him, a face with silver hair and black eyes.
"Mr. Hatake!" Naruto squealed happily.
He tried to climb up the man's arm and cling tightly to it, but he was weighted down by the bandages on his legs, so he settled for holding Kakashi's hand with both of his own in spite of the other bandages that covered his burned hands.
"I escapeded from my nightmare. I heard your voice," the blond declared happily as if he couldn't be more content at the moment. ", and I followed it."
Kakashi chuckled and mussed Naruto's hair affectionately, surprised at how naturally the gesture came.
"That's good Naruto." he replied somewhat absently, his eyes focused on the thick bandages wrapped around Naruto's legs.
The blond followed his gaze down to his legs and stared at them, as though he couldn't recognize what they were. Then he looked back up at Kakashi, who was watching him sadly.
'I don't want to see Mr. Hatake be sad. Did I do something wrong? I don't...think I did. I was just hiding...cause I deserved it...but I'm still here 'cause I saved Sasuke. But I have to make Mr. Hatake feel better.'
"They don't hurt." he said, his blue eyes wide with honest certitude. "Not one bit." he added after the look on Kakashi's face remained the same.
"I know." Kakashi said, trying desperately to think of any excuse he could find to leave the room. He didn't want to cry in front of the child. The poor kid had been through enough. He didn't need to see him break down. Finding no reason to leave, he remained in the room, fidgeting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
Absently he traced over the scars just above his right elbow, a habit he often did when he was thinking about something.
"Is Sasuke okay?" Naruto's innocent question nearly rent Kakashi's heart in two.
'Here he is thinking about someone else, when he should be worried about himself. This kid is so unpredictable. First tears, than laughter.' he thought, remembering the night before when Naruto had had a nightmare.
"Sasuke? Oh, you mean the little boy who ran inside to try and find you?"
"He did that?" Naruto's eyes grew wider still with wonder. "For me?"
"Yes, he did. I think he's sleeping right now. It is five-o-clock in the morning. You should really try to get some more rest."
"Where's Mr. Umino?" Naruto asked. "I don't see him here."
Kakashi's face took on a worried expression. Though he tried his best to hide it, Naruto was highly perceptive and caught on right away. Immediately he began to tremble.
"He's okay, right? Right?" Naruto asked insistently.
"I...don't know. I came here first thing after I was released because they said your wounds were critical. You're in the Burn Unit of Konoha's hospital right now and you're lucky to be alive."
"I deserved to die." Naruto mumbled lowly. "The voice in my head...Kyuubi told me so."
Kakashi looked at the small child sitting on the bed with a bemused expression. He felt his heartstrings tighten painfully as he continued to observe Naruto. He looked so vulnerable on the large white bed with two I.V. needles stuck in his arm and wrapped up in bandages like a mummy.
Just then a nurse walked in, trailed by a man with raven hair and matching sable eyes.
"He's in the partitioned room," she murmured sympathetically before leaving the man to check on other patients in the Burn Unit.
"You're our new neighbor, aren't you? Uchiha, right?" Kakashi asked, somewhat relieved to have some adult company.
"Yes. Itachi will do."
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? You look quite young, if you don't mind me asking."
"Eighteen." Itachi replied.
"Really young then." Kakashi said smiling.
"'Tachi-san?"
Itachi and Kakashi both turned towards Naruto, who was sitting up with a look of profound sorrow in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I made Sasuke get hurt. I was bad. You can punish me however you want."
"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, utterly shocked by his admission.
"I deserved this." Naruto motioned with one severely bandaged hand to his legs, pulling the I.V. pole towards him slightly. "But if that doesn't meet your approval, you can still punish me. I promise I won't flinch or anything."
Itachi gave Kakashi a questioning look, who then mouthed the word 'Abuse.' The man nodded, his eyes darkening with silent sympathy and rage directed towards the persons who had brought the child about to his way of thinking. The dark-haired man approached Naruto and knelt down to his level.
"Listen, Naruto. I do not hold you responsible for my brother's injuries. You do not deserve any of this." he gestured to the bandages wrapped around Naruto's hands and legs. "So I want you to promise me that you will not blame yourself for what happened. Promise?" he held out a hand for Naruto to shake.
"Promise." said Naruto, touching his heavily wrapped hand to Itachi's own pale one.
Kakashi watched, relief flooding through his body as he sensed the kindness and sincerity behind Itachi's actions.
Itachi stood, glanced at Kakashi, and nodded slightly. Kakashi replied with a nod of his own. Naruto looked down, trying not to feel guilty about what had happened. Just then his stomach rumbled loud enough that both Itachi and Kakashi, who were standing three feet away, could hear it.
Naruto's cheeks flamed in embarrassment, but he said nothing and settled for playing with his bandages instead of voicing his hunger. He knew that food would be given to him...if he deserved it. If he did not, then he would go hungry until Kakashi decided to feed him.
'I miss Mr. Umino.' he thought as he began absently unwrapping his bandage.
"Naruto, leave your bandages alone." Kakashi said.
"B-But they feel weird." he stuttered as he tucked the loose strand in between the layers of white gauze.
"Do they hurt?"
"No." said Naruto. "They just feel funny. They don't hurt. Can I take them off?"
The silver-haired man shook his head and went back to conversing with Itachi.
"So, you just moved here because you felt like it?" he asked the other man.
"My father passed away last month and left his entire company in my hands. I moved here so I would be closer to my work and also because my brother needs to start attending school again. His last school was not..." he stopped in his explanation, searching for a word that continued to evade him. "He was being teased for not having a mother. She died when he was seven. He's nine now. He does seem to be coping well on his own, but he needs friends. Someone like Naruto...Well, I believe that Naruto could help Sasuke. He certainly is friendly, if not a little timid. What's your story?"
"He's...he's had it rough." was all Kakashi could manage to say before a lump formed in his throat. "He's had it really rough."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response.
"Aniki?" came a small voice from the partitioned room.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried, his eyes flying to the other side of the room.
Itachi pulled the curtains open to reveal a groggy child with mussed raven hair and pale white skin. The combination was striking on him.
"Naruto?"
"Sasuke!" Naruto replied happily.
He tried to jump out of bed, but Kakashi caught him just in time and held him in place.
"You're not supposed to move, Naruto. You're burns are still open and very bad. If you move, you'll do even more damage."
"But I wanna see Sasuke."
"You can see him just fine right here."
"I can't see." Naruto protested.
"Don't be silly, Naruto. Wait...You really can't see Sasuke's face from here?"
Naruto shook his head, tears starting to build in the corners of his eyes.
"Okay, okay, calm down. The doctor will have my head for this, but I'll carry you over there to him, okay." Kakashi reassured him.
"The bed has wheels but they're locked in place." Sasuke announced. "You could push mine over there if you move that little lever down there."
"Gee, you're smart, Sasuke. Not like me." Naruto chirruped happily, not at all discouraged by the fact that he was speaking negatively of himself.
"Naruto!" Kakashi admonished. "Don't say things like that."
Naruto looked down guiltily. "Sorry." he mumbled.
It was obvious that he was used to being talked down to and that normal adult behavior consisted of his constant punishment. This show of kindness and consideration was new to him. Consequently, he was puzzled by it.
'I don't understand. I was bad, and they don't punish me. Itachi said it wasn't even my fault.'
'They'll get you later, boy. You know it will happen later.' whispered his alternate personality's voice.
'Shut up, Kyuubi. No one cares. I was good, so they say.'
'So they say, but what do you know, eh? They'll punish you later, and if they don't, I will.'
'That's an empty threat. You can't hurt me. You live inside me. Hurting me would be hurting yourself, dumb-butt.'
While Naruto was arguing with Kyuubi, Itachi wheeled Sasuke's bed over beside his. Sasuke observed Naruto's glazed-over expression and reached out to touch his arm. This snapped the blonde out of his reverie. He looked up at Sasuke with a forlorn sort of smile.
"Are you feeling better?"
Sasuke nodded tiredly. "Did you save me?"
"I pulled the flaming woody thing off your leg." Naruto responded happily. "An' then I pulled you out of the house."
"Wow..." said Sasuke. "You must have been really scareded."
"Naw. I wasn't scared at all." Naruto declared, but then stopped when Kakashi gave him a stern look. "Okay, maybe a little."
Kakashi smiled warmly, and then turned to Itachi.
"I know you must be as exhausted as I am, but...I want to check on my..." Kakashi wasn't sure what term to apply to his boyfriend. He didn't want Itachi to judge him in any way in the hopes that Naruto might have a new friend.
"If he's your lover, then say so. Only Kami can judge you." Itachi spoke softly.
Kakashi turned scarlet. "We haven't gone that far yet. He's my boyfriend. Thanks for that. I'd appreciate it if you could watch Naruto and Sasuke for a moment so I can check on him? I'll try to find out what room he's in. He should behave himself, but sometimes he gets scared over silly things and..." Kakashi realized he was rambling but couldn't stop himself.
"Go." Itachi commanded. "I raised Sasuke almost entirely by myself. This is nothing different."
"But sometimes he gets scared and..."
"Go. It'll be alright," he said reassuringly.
"Thank you."
Kakashi left, leaving Naruto and the others behind. He returned to the ICU of the hospital where he had seen his boyfriend last. As luck would have it, Iruka was still in the same room. His normally tan face held a sickly pallor and he had a breathing mask over his face.
He was by the man's side in an instant. Iruka reached out a shaky hand to him and he took it into how own, absently marveling over how they seemed to meld together so perfectly.
"How are you? Can you talk?"
Iruka used his right hand to drag a sketchpad over to where he could reach it, then picked up a pen and began to write. When he finished, he tapped the paper with his pen. Kakashi peered down and read the short note.
"Doctors said not to talk for a while," it read.
"Oh, okay."
Iruka began hastily scribbling another message. This time when he was done he tapped the paper emphatically.
"Is Naruto okay?" was scrawled across the note pad.
"Naruto's..." Kakashi began, unwilling to let his boyfriend worry over the blond-haired child. "His hands and legs are burned pretty badly, but he's happy as can be because Sasuke's in the same room as him."
"Good." Iruka wrote. "I'm tired."
"Just rest, Iruka. I'll keep an eye on Naruto for you, alright."
Iruka nodded, then watched with an aching heart as he watched the love of his life walk out of the room. Kakashi returned to the room expecting a catastrophe and instead finding a normal scene of conviviality.
Naruto was explaining to Sasuke the dangers of taking giant craps in the bathroom and what air freshener was best to use when you were finished while Itachi watched them with an expression of extreme bemusement.
"And so if you need to take a big dump, try not to make a lot of noise cause people might think you're a scary monster." Naruto was saying right as Kakashi walked in.
"Okay. I don't want to know where this conversation's headed. Maybe I should just leave."
Sasuke and Naruto both turned and shouted "NO!" as loud as they could.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. I was only gone for ten minutes."
"Is Mr. Umino okay?" asked Naruto.
"He's fine. Just suffering from some smoke inhalation."
"I wanna go see him."
"I wanna see this Mr. Umino person." Sasuke chimed in.
"Sasuke!" Itachi admonished his younger brother. "It is extremely rude of you to talk like that."
Sasuke looked down, playing with his hands. Naruto put one bandaged hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "It's okay. Mr. Umino wouldn't mind if you called him a persons."
This cheered Sasuke up a lot. "There are books over there on the shelf. Can you read me one, Aniki?"
Itachi retrieved a book titled "The Old Man Who Made the Flowers Bloom," and handed it to Sasuke.
"You can read it yourself, Sasuke. You know how to read. And I'm sure Naruto can help you with any words you get stuck on."
"Naruto can't read." Naruto said sadly, speaking in third person. "Naruto doesn't know how..."
Kakashi couldn't resist the urge to get up and comfort Naruto. He went to hug Naruto, but Naruto flinched as soon as he touched him.
"I'm sorry, Naruto." Kakashi said, backing off. "I...forgot that you don't like hugs."
Naruto regarded him with impassive blue eyes while Sasuke watched on without comprehending.
"I'll read the story, and Aniki can help me with the words I get stuck on." Sasuke interjected.
"Okay!" said Naruto, snapping out of his trace.
Sasuke read the book while Naruto followed along, occasionally repeating a word or two here and there. The raven-haired child had almost no trouble with any of the words and when he finished the book, he looked over to check on Naruto, who had grown silent during the second half of the book only to find that said blond had fallen asleep listening to him read.
Sasuke put the book down and pulled the covers over Naruto's head. Then he squirmed down beneath his own sheets, scooted next to his new friend, and put an arm around him carefully before closing his eyes. He was asleep within minutes.
"How cute." Kakashi whispered. "Is your brother always like that?"
Itachi shook his head, mystified. "I've never seen him take such a liking to anyone before."
"Well, all we can do is try and get some rest. I'm exhausted," the silver-haired man suggested. "It's barely six in the morning."
"True." Itachi replied.
The two men sat down in surprisingly soft cushioned chairs and were soon soundly asleep. A nurse came by and deposited a blanket over each of them before continuing her rounds. They all slept peacefully, undisturbed by nightmares of the past. Outside the hospital, however, a mysterious person cloaked in black huddled just beyond the entranceway.
"Yes." he whispered into a tiny black dot on the upturned lapel of his cloak. "He's here."
"Not yet." replied a snake-like voice. "Not yet. Return to base."
"Affirmative."
The cloaked stranger looked for any sign of a witness, but the streets were deserted. He stood and seemingly melted into the wind, disappearing without a trace.
Woot!! I finished. I finished. Go me! Go me! I hope you all like this chapter. I found it very difficult to type. And yes, I know that severely burned patients are often kept in a medicated coma because of the immense pain, but if I did that, I wouldn't be able to write the chapter with just Kakashi and Iruka. I'm also thinking about skipping ahead a few years. What do you think? I need some feedback. Push the little blue button and make me happy. –– Bottlecaps.