Chapter IV – This dreadful feeling

Not daring to open his eyes, Sasuke took a moment to catch his breath. For any passer by he might look distracted or exhausted, but he was well aware of the hands on his shoulders. Strong and unbearably warm fingers, almost melting him, almost...

"Oi bastard! what is your royal icy assholeness up to again!"

Am i hearing things! Opening his eyes faster than the speed of light, he stared bluntly at his assaulter, trying hard to bring the blurry image into any semblance of focus.
The hands... so warm..
Squinting his eyes, he could make out blond spikey hair and a worried expression.
you came... He thought smiling to himself, and reached out a slightly trembling hand. He froze when he noticed the eyes that were looking at him. Even in this blurry image they were too dark. Frowning, he shook his head impatiently as if trying to break from a daze.

"S-Sasuke...?"

A girl?. Looking up, the now wide awake ninja found himself face to face not with his rival, but someone unexpected nevertheless.

"Temari!"

Only after acknowledging that the person in front of him was the blasted girl, did Sasuke's brain register the unforgivably vulnreble position he was in.
Disbelief coloring his face, the boy slapped Temari's hands off his shoulders and jumped backwards, making sure few good feet were separating them.

But he said... it was Naruto who asked..

Looking up at the girl again, the boy spoke in an unsteady voice.

"Did-... did you say anything?"

Seeing that the boy wasn't acting like himself, Temari chose not to take a risk by approaching him. Instead, she thought about his question for a while before answering.

"Sas-...Yes, i asked if you are Sasuke. I now know you are, but meeting you again was so unimaginable..."

Sasuke wasn't interessted in her rumbling, so he chose to ignore her in favor of self analysis.
So after all i was only imagining things...
He then heard Itachi's voice at the back of his head.

"You're pathetic, little brother, pathetic."

Pathetic...
And Sasuke knew all too well just who's fault was that. He bolted towards the opposite direction from his previous destination, surprising the still babbling blond girl.

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- Later than night: Konoha Hospital -

"Sasuke!"

Abandoning the tea hastily, both men rushed to room 501. It was around 2 AM when the scream was heard, resounding through the many hallways of the enormous building. Few heads were peeking out of the rooms, unhappy with the rude awakening yet keeping their mouths shut, knowing clearly what room the screams came from.

Shoes squeaked as the taller of the two men tripped, almost dragging the other one with him.

"Come on Akira! We must get there fast!" Hiroshi, the shorter man, shouted, leaving his partner behind. Once by the door, the man had suddenly stopped, aghast. Surprised, the taller man called his name repeatedly, but Hiroshi didn't move. Approaching him carefully, Akira peered into the room but regretted it a moment later.

"Oh my… God." Were the only words whispered as a whimper came from the room.

There, the patient was lying in an unbearably uncomfortable position.
His back arched painfully, hands gripping tightly the mattress as he opened his mouth so wide, that it seemed as though his jaw was dislocated. His eyes were rolled upwards and dark crimson, almost black chakra was swiftly flowing out of him, creating some sort of circle around the pure white bed.

"Hurts… Sasuke…" The patient choked out as he managed to somewhat return his jaw to its normal and more natural position.
Soaked with sweat, the blond boy gasped in pain as the petrifying black ring grew in its dimensions, swallowing everything on its way and threatening to crack the walls as well.

Both doctors stood in the doorway, too astonished to breathe. After receiving strict orders from the Hokage to keep their distance from the boy, neither tried to be a hero, neither tried to be a doctor… neither tried to help.
Moments later, another scream was heard, followed by a loud explosion. The men standing at the doorway were knocked into the wall behind them with great force and for a moment, everything around them was covered with white dots. When the dots gradually disappeared, Hiroshi got back to his feet and after giving Naruto one last glance, he strode off.

"I don't need this shit. Get me the messengers!"

- Later at the Hokage's -

"Hokage-sama, we have an important message from --"

"Can't you see I'm busy? And who let you in anyway! " The woman yelled, squinting her eyes in clear annoyance.

Hokage or not, she was still a woman. And like many other women, her temper was short. Even too short at times. She was indeed busy, and it was far too important to be put on hold. It concerned a certain blond and hyperactive ninja that was now hospitalized, due to some strange symptoms he's been showing.
No, not the nightmares. They seemed normal after his 'friendly' encounter with Sasuke two days ago, and Tsunade didn't pay much attention to it anyway. But the sudden bursts of dark crimson chakra and the extreme sensitivity worried the Hokage to no end.

She sat back into her chair and raised a hand to wave both men off.

"Leave this room. I am too busy to be concerned with this. I'll listen to whatever you have to say later --"

"No! You will listen to them now!"

Turning her head to the door, Tsunade was surprised to see that the outburst came from the usually silent healer. Does he know what 'knocking' means?

"Hiroshi-san… what is this all about?"

Head bowed, the young man spoke in a high voice. "Gomen Hokage-sama! But you must listen to me!"

Receiving silence as an answer, he dared to look at the woman. Seeing clearly that he got her attention, the young healer continued with determination, " Tsunade-sama, that boy… Naruto, you must explain his condition to me! What is that evil chakra that he possesses? What is he?"

"How dare you burst into this room and order me?" The now angry woman hissed. "Who do you think you are?" She yelled and stood up abruptly.

Bowing his head in apology, Hiroshi said, "Gomen, Hokage-sama, you are right. This is your territory, here, as a leader."

The young man then stood straight and peered into Tsunade's eyes. Then he spoke, "But have you forgotten who you truly are? Above all things you are healer! You save people from death's merciless grasp!"

"And what do you think I'm trying to do now?" Tsunade said in a semi-calm voice, trying hard to keep her emotions at bay. "What do you think I'm so busy with…?"

Confused, Hiroshi stared at his leader.
His eyes met a ripen women, beautiful and graceful. The loose Hokage robe only added to her fine appearance, making her seem almost divine.
Indeed, she was their leader. The one whom people always trusted to protect the village from all evil. She was their hero.
But every hero is first, a human being. A person with true feelings, and not a cold hearted warrior nor an unmoved healer. Like every other person, She had her ups and downs.
She had her weaknesses.

When she finally let go of her anger, Hiroshi found himself dazed by the woman in front of him. Seeing her as she was now, tranquility gracing her soft features as her fingers played idly with the corner of a scroll, the young healer realized that this was the first time he saw Tsunade immerged in such peace. Although she was deep in though, it wasn't the leader in her, but the human being… the woman.

Shutting her eyes tightly, Tsunade said quietly, "Che… you don't understand a thing."

"Then explain it to me. Show me… make me understand."

It may have been Hiroshi's yielding voice that made her spill what's on her mind, or maybe she simply understood she had to tell him… who knows.

"I…" she began hesitantly, "I don't know what's wrong with him."

Not bothering to hide the shock, Hiroshi stared at her wide eyed and mouth slightly open. What… what is she saying!

"His symptoms… they are not mentioned in any book or scroll I own. And trust me when I say that my collection of scrolls surpasses those of any other Hokage. I do not know whether it is a disease or a curse, and I'm not sure it's curable either."

Still staring at Tsunade in disbelief, Hiroshi managed to whisper, "So what do you know?"

"I… I know pretty much as much as you do. I have witnessed the burst of that wicked chakra myself, and I know of his extreme sensitivity to anyone's touch, anywhere."

This was the second time that Tsunade felt so useless. She felt useless then, when she couldn't even save the only man she loved and who loved her back, and now she was walking the same path that led her to pain, suffering and the worst of things – loss of a close to her person.

Somehow recovering from his shock, the healer bowed his head in thought and said in a deadly serious tone, "We need to move him away from the hospital."

"No."

Hiroshi abruptly looked up, only to notice that Tsunade was avoiding his gaze.

"What! What do you mean! Tsunade! What is the meaning of this!"

Receiving nothing but silence, the young man threw his hands to his sides and practically yelled,
"Are you telling me that I have to stand aside and watch how that boy destroys the hospital? How do you think I feel, knowing that my patients can be killed any moment by some --"

"And how do think I feel!" That caught Hiroshi off guard.

"I can't even embrace one of my most important people, without causing him pain! How do you think I feel when I see him cry from agony, and all I can do is keep my distance!"

"One of your most important people…? Are you insane!"

Now it was Tsunade's turn to stare at him in anger and disbelief. What…?

"He's not important! He's a monster! The devil in disguise! And he will become a murderer too, just like the monster in him, once he destroys that hospital!"

She couldn't believe her ears. Hiroshi was wrong. All those times she spent with Naruto… he wasn't a monster…

"Baa-chan! Don't gamble so much! If you go on like this, you'll have to use your body to pay the debt! "

"Why you… get back here, you brat!"

He's wrong… Naruto…

"Tsunade…"

"What brat?"

"The villagers keep calling me a monster even though I have already proven to be trustworthy. They still ignore me and call me names.

"Naruto…"

"But you know what? I'm not sad anymore, because I know I'll never be a monster for you, right? Because… I have a special place in your heart, ne?"

You do Naruto. You do…

Losing what little control she had, Tsunade squinted her eyes and shouted, "He… He is not a monster! He never was and never will be! He is Naruto! An excellent student and a loyal friend!"

"You…" She hissed, "Get out. Get the hell out of here! I don't want to see your face in Konoha ever again!"
Seeing that he did not move, probably stunned, Tsunade drew back her hand and punched Hiroshi hard in the stomach, screaming, "Just GO!"

Watching the young man fall down the stairs, she turned uncaringly and entered back into the room, locking the door behind her.
Once it was locked, she slid down the huge wooden surface to the floor. Tears now falling freely, she sobbed quietly,
"Useless… I feel so useless…"

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TBC? - Let me know