Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter. I realize it's been a while since I updated, but I just wasn't inspired. Blame my muse. I'm cut off from coffee right now so somehow I'll have to get some through reviews. Send me some coffee!! Sorry to say, but I fear this story might be coming to a close. However, if someone wants to make a sequelllllllllllllll...well, that'd be up to them. (.)
Warnings: Possible yaoi ahead. Proceed with caution and tissues in case of nosebleed. Lame attempts at humor.
Chapter 9, Part 2. Frostbitten Love
Itachi woke up because he thought his nose had fallen off. It was actually numb, which was no surprise to him as he felt the object on his face with a small smirk that actually masked a smile of relief. He stood, momentarily forgetting that Naruto was lying on top of him and the genin plopped into the snow soundlessly. He stooped to pick the genin up when much to his disappointment he found said ninja to be shivering uncontrollably. He looked up and winced at the stark whiteness of the winter wonderland around them. The snowfall was almost enough to blind a person.
'Falling asleep in the snow: Romantic, yes. Smart, no.'
He held the genin to his chest and carried him bridal style back to the cozy log cabin with its old-school front porch and its bug screen quickly even though it could barely be made out above the raging blizzard. The missing-nin was invited in by Kisame who eyed them curiously as they entered the house with bits of snow still piled on top of them.
Naruto woke up then. He stumbled around the room bleary eyed until Kisame made him sit down in a comfortable old rocker in the living room and handed him a cup of hot cocoa.
"Thanks." he murmured before sipping the rich chocolaty liquid. "Wow, Kisame. You really can make hot cocoa."
Kisame flushed with pride, though it looked rather...distinctive...on the blue-skinned man.
"I saw you guys outside when I came home, but I didn't want to wake you. Then it started snowing so I decided to attempt hot chocolate."
Just then Itachi felt a burning sensation in a very odd spot. Suddenly his eyes grew into saucers and his lips quivered in fear.
"Oh my god, Kisame. I think I have frostbite on my penis. Oh...my...god." he repeated.
Naruto fell off the chair, rolling on the floor between fits of hysterical laughter and bubbly hiccoughs. Kisame's face grew grotesque.
"I realllllly didn't need to know that..." grimaced Kisame as he shook the unpleasant mental images from his mind.
"Kisame." he grabbed the man by his shoulders and shook him hard. "What am I going to do? How am I supposed to fix this? How am I going to do it if I lose my penis?!"
"I hope you're not planning to reproduce. It's a good thing you're gay, Itachi."
Itachi looked at him with such despair that Kisame almost felt sorry for the poor guy whose member had nearly been frozen off in the snow.
"Fix this!!" he said and yanked down his trousers.
Naruto stopped laughing and stared while Kisame made a funny noise and turned away from the sight.
"Naruto. Suck me. Now. Warm it up before it dies! Please, I'm begging you!!" he half-growled, half-pleaded.
Naruto crawled over to Itachi on his knees, swaying hypnotically as he came forth to take Itachi's slightly frostbitten member into his mouth. He moaned as a sudden heat enveloped him. Kisame sputtered indignantly before slamming the door to his room and playing Lethal Assault on his playstation as loud as he possibly could to drown out any noise from the two lovers.
The blond licked his way up, swirling his tongue around the member in a slow dance of passion. Itachi moaned as he leaned his hips towards the ministration.
"Is it warm now?" Naruto asked glassy blue eyes filled with an endless sea of love.
Itachi closed his eyes as waves of pleasure rode through his body like the ebbing tides of an ocean. His love for Naruto was as deep and as wide and as vast as that everlasting body of water. So deep was his affection that he felt his heart swell until it threatened to burst.
"Naruto. I can't say this enough, but I love you." he said as his breath hitched in his chest.
"I will always love you, koi. Now, why don't we take this to the bed?"
The raven haired man grew detached from his bearings as he felt a series of searing kisses placed delicately below his jaw and down across his collarbone. Naruto attached his mouth to the junction between the man's neck and shoulder. He laved his tongue over the area before gently biting down. In that position they walked to the bed where the genin pushed Itachi down against the sheets and sucked lightly on the spot above his pulse.
"Na-Naruto." his breathing hitched again and his voice came out higher than intended because an immense wave of pleasure swept through him.
Naruto reached up with one hand and fingered a nipple, pinching the dark puckered skin between his thumb and forefinger. His other hand reached down to stroke his hot, slick penis.
Itachi was adrift in a torrent of amorous feelings. His passion for the genin currently doing things to his body that made him want to scream broke through the ceiling into the infinitesimal sky beyond the enclosure.
Naruto moaned and then an idea formed in his head. He began to hum, lightly at first, then to a more solemn tune. Itachi gasped and his cock twitched as the vibrations traveled up it.
"Oh, Naruto..."
Naruto smirked as he licked the member one last time before coming up to his face and kissing him passionately.
"I love you like the sky is blue." he said while spinning Itachi around by his arm so that the tip of his member was by his entrance and his back was facing the genin.
Itachi gasped as Naruto entered him roughly from behind without warning. Through pleasure and pain, as sweat and lust became a need, the two ninja became one. Their heartbeats skyrocketed, synchronizing in the process.
He was amazingly hot and tight and Naruto felt satisfaction rush through him as the older man gave a guttural moan. He bent over and thrust once deeply. Then he leaned over and began nibbling along the edge of his earlobe, earning another low moan from the Uchiha.
While that was happening, Naruto took his right hand and brought it down to the space between Itachi's balls and began to stroke the skin lightly. Itachi pushed against the contact; he wanted more and more. The genin's nimble fingers left trails of fire in their wake. The blond thrust again and again, never pulling completely out each time he withdrew.
Naruto moved his hand so that he was giving his one and only lover a hand job. He slid his hand up Itachi's well-endowed length until he felt the man beneath him shudder as his body released its seed on the sweat-dampened sheets. Naruto slammed into him one final time, teasing a final moan from the Uchiha before he too came inside him. Then they both collapsed on the bed panting and gasping for breath.
Itachi chuckled.
"Mine." he spoke as he pulled possessively at Naruto's now-flaccid member.
"All of this is yours," replied Naruto, wrapping his arms around his lover's back. "Unless you want to hurt my feelings by claiming only my penis and forgetting about the rest of me?"
"I'd never do something like that," said Itachi teasingly.
"I knew it. You are a horny bastard," said Naruto.
"Only for you, love."
Naruto rolled over and let Itachi spoon him. Itachi marveled at the way the genin's body fit perfectly against his own. The blond was almost asleep when Itachi took a pillow from the bed and bopped him on the head with it.
"Hey!!" he cried.
His hands fumbled for another pillow. Grasping it at last, he swung as hard as he could at the other male.
"Take that."
Pillows, sheets, and comforters flew across the room, hurtling into the walls, knocking down the occasional picture frame, and causing a great commotion in general. Hot, sweaty, and exhausted, Naruto collapsed on the bed after swinging a pillow one last time to hit Itachi squarely in the face.
Itachi plopped down on top of Naruto, pinning him down. For a moment they gazed into each other's eyes, enveloped by the love they had for each other. He swept down and caught Naruto's lips in soft, chaste kiss. Just then they heard a loud groan. Simultaneously they looked up and saw Kisame standing in the hallway with a blue hand over his face.
"Oh, just when I thought it was safe. Do you ever give it a rest? You two go at it like rabbits in a hole."
"Rabbits, eh?" said Naruto, grinning as he lay back on the mussed covers.
"Two gay rabbits." said Itachi as he kissed his boyfriend on the lips again.
Just then Naruto felt something stir down by his thigh.
"Again?!" he cried. "Uchihas...Especially Itachi Uchihas, are the horniest men in the universe."
"Shut up." said Itachi abruptly, though he too couldn't prevent a chuckle from escaping.
Naruto hit him with a pillow and they wrestled in bed some more. Kisame rolled his dark eyes at their antics and set about making dinner. Soon the house was filled with the warm scent of Shiro Miso, Tonkatsu, and Oyoko-dan.
"Mm, mm, mm, smells good," said Naruto, walking up to the kitchen. He was about to snatch a piece of tonkatsu, but Kisame's hand shot out and slapped it away.
"Never..." he began, a murderous gleam in his eyes. "...ever, disturb the chef."
"Gomen-nasai." Naruto apologized.
Kisame let him go with a warning and turned his attention back to cooking the pork fillet. Naruto walked out into the bedroom where Itachi was lying, deep in thought, and jumped under the covers.
"Hey. I had no idea that Kisame was such a serious cook. Did you?"
"No, I didn't." he said somewhat distractedly.
Naruto noticed his distant attitude, but let it slip by this time. He would question the Uchiha later. For now he just wanted to relax. Before he noticed it his thoughts brought him around to missing his old life. Sure, the villagers had beaten him before, but now...now he was so far away. So far away from all of that. And he couldn't help, briefly, wondering where Sasuke was and if he was all right.
In Konoha Hospital...
Sasuke was roused by the night nurse for his blood pressure. He blinked blearily in the darkness as he felt the cuff tighten around his arm.
"Almost...done." he said, recording the information down on a pad of paper.
"Have you been under any stress, lately?"
Sasuke looked at him with a cryptic expression.
"I'm always under stress." he said sardonically.
The night nurse chuckled.
"Even in the middle of the night you have an attitude, Sasuke. You truly do amaze me. How long have you been here?"
"Three months. Can I go back to sleep now, or must I convince you I'm dreaming safe dreams?"
Sasuke snorted contemptuously at his own joke.
"Are you, Sasuke?"
Murky eyes of liquid coal met the pure blue ones of the night nurse.
"No." he said finally. "Nightmares."
"Try and go back to sleep, alright? Let one of us know if you're struggling. That's the only way you can get better."
Sasuke had already turned over in bed, unwilling to say anything more. Sai's blood pressure was taken next.
"I need my beauty sleep, you know," replied the dark-eyed teen as he was asked to raise his arm so that the cuff could be applied. "This continuous arousal from sleep is so rough on my cuticles."
"Sai." the elder man chuckled.
Sasuke felt the December chill seeping in through the large plastic windows to the right of the bed. He lay in bed for a while until he thought Sai was asleep. His mind drifted away into the unknown.
He got up and walked over to the windows. He put his hand against the cold plastic and watched as a mist formed around it
"Can't sleep?" the elder boy asked suddenly.
"Were you the one who gave me the extra blanket?"
"Hai. You looked cold so I gave you mine."
"Won't you get sick without it?"
Sai sighed. Man, Sasuke asked too many questions, but...was that a hint of concern in his voice? Did that mean he actually felt something for him? He couldn't help but feel a little excited.
'Maybe that means I have a chance. I just have to be honest...Sounds easier said than done.'
"I don't care about myself. That's why I'm here. Why are you here?"
"Overdose." the other boy said the word with such a cold and unfeeling manner that it almost gave Sai shivers. He spoke with such finality, as if it were merely the only excuse he had for being in the psychiatric ward of the hospital.
"So..." said Sai who was, for the first time, at a loss for words.
Sasuke found himself falling through a vapid, spiraling tornado of depression. It tossed him about in the air like a helpless rag doll. A single tear trickled down his face, leaving behind a burning trail, but he refused to wipe it away.
"Hey...You're crying. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." Sasuke replied icily.
Before he realized what he was doing, Sai had opened his arms and embraced the younger male tightly. The air around them seemed supercharged with static as they stood there, enveloped in the warmth of each other.
"Naru...to..." Sasuke croaked out brokenly.
For the first time since his hospitalization, Sasuke found himself crying for the love he had lost, for the regrets he now carried on his sturdy, pale shoulders, and for the scars on his wrists that now defined him as a fragile broken creature.
"I'm here," said Sai. "I'm here."
"Sai..." he said at last. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because even if I don't care about myself, I care about you, Sasuke."
"Sai...I...I can't. My heart...belongs to someone already."
"You shouldn't say that," said Sai coldly, his dark eyes glinting ominously in the moonlight. "Because he's the reason you're here, isn't it? What does that tell you about him? Only that he was willing to leave you behind for his own selfish reasons. This Naruto person obviously doesn't care about you."
Sai pulled away sharply, furious with both Sasuke and himself. Blinded by the sudden rage that had fallen over him, he went over and yanked open the wooden drawer beneath his bed. From the folds of a pair of pants, he withdrew a piece of metal that flashed liquid fire in the darkness.
He brought the shaving razor to his wrist and dragged it across deeply. He didn't even so much as blink as the blade bit into his flesh. The blade was sharp. He felt it snag on something, but he ripped it out and began again.
Soon twelve deep rips in his skin bled crimson fluid. Breathing heavily but satisfied at last, he wiped the blade with a tender caress before tucking it safely into the folds of his pants. His knees nearly buckled beneath him, but he made it to his bed and tossed the covers over him with his good hand. Soon his conscious mind ebbed into the dark shadowy abyss of eternal sleep.
Sasuke stood dumbfounded, having watched in horror as his roommate mutilated his arms with a razor blade.
"What the hell?" he asked himself before he passed out in shock.
The next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Kimiko, the nurse who was usually in charge of watching him.
"Sasuke. Sasuke! Wake up. Are you alright?"
The memory of the previous night assaulted him viciously. In fear he kicked his feet forward until his back met the wall. Once there, he gave a frustrated groan and began crying again. The hot bitter liquid raced freely down his cheeks, falling to the corners of his mouth and landing on his clenched fist.
"Sasuke. It's all right. It's me, Kimiko."
"What...what happened to Sai?"
"I'm right here, idiot." came a tired voice.
Sasuke looked up and locked eyes with the older boy. His gaze traveled down to the arm that was crisscrossed with ugly black stitches and then back up to Sai's face. The ANBU looked tired. His face was tense and pale and the purple bags under his dark eyes showed the strain of blood loss.
"I thought...I thought you..."
"Died?" Sai said with a strange laugh. "It takes more than a few cuts to kill me. Trust me, I know."
"Sai, be nice."
"You should have seen it. You passed out like a sissy. Squeamish, aren't you?"
"SAI!! As of this moment you are no longer roommates. I will be moving you and you are being demoted to level 0."
The nurse turned to look at Sasuke. Just then Kimiko's face morphed into that of his brother, Itachi.
"Foolish little brother."
Sasuke woke up then, nearly bolting out of bed in fear and horror as the stitched-up Sai came towards him with a razorblade in hand. Something touched his hand and he flinched away. He opened one eye to see Sai standing over him with a great deal of concern.
"You must have been having a really bad nightmare. You're so tangled up in the sheets. Here."
Sai unwrapped the sheets that were caught and twisted around Sasuke's ankles.
"It was...a nightmare? But you were...you were." he looked down at Sai's arm, expecting to see rows of hideous black stitches. Instead there were the thin white lines that he was used to seeing and no longer looked at with disgust.
"My eyes are up here." Sai told him gently, redirecting his gaze.
Charcoal eyes filled with pain stared at the older boy. What caught Sai wasn't the emotional torment in them, but the absence of love. He opened his arms and let Sasuke lean into him. They stayed like that until Sasuke felt his eyelids grower heavier and heavier...and heavier. He fell into a restful sleep for the first time in a long time, leaving behind the conscious world and all the anguish within it.
Well, how's that? Yep...So, you got a bit of NaruIta and some SaiSasu ( in a way ). I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. Oh yeah, one more thing. In psychiatric wards, they often have "levels" or "point systems" that are used to encourage the people residing there to take steps to improve.
For those who don't know what they are, here:
Shiro Miso: a light, cleansing soup made from white soybean paste. It also has seaweed and cubes of tofu in it.
Tonkatsu: Japanese style pork fillet. It is usually served with Oyoko-dan and thinly sliced cabbage leaves.
Oyoko-dan: Chicken and egg with rice. It's quite good.
And if anyone wants the recipes, they are located in a Japanese cookbook called : Japanese Cooking at Home by Hideo Dekura. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn and has the resources to cook authentic Japanese dishes.
P.S. I expect some coffee in any reviews I may get for this chapter. I take it with milk and two sugars. Cookies to all who review!!