Look at that I didn't take that long this time, though I am up at 2 am finishing it... Either way, it's not a month late so I hope you all enjoy and didn't take that last minor-cliffy too hard.

Chapter Nineteen:

Sasuke paced back and forth, up and down the long, empty corridor. He refused to wait in the waiting room where it was obviously met as a spot for people to... wait. But he fought the nurses enough to be allowed to wait outside Naruto's room. As expected they gave him one of the smallest, oldest rooms that was out of the way. Even the hospital people were stuck in the past of what his mother had done. But at least they pitied him enough to treat him, not to mention the fact that they could be sued greatly or draw great suspicion if they turned away a wounded boy.

The raven hated waiting like this, trapped in the nauseating smell of anti-sceptics and sterilizers. It sickened him. However, his inner self no longer sickened him. He was one hundred percent certain of himself now that Naruto would be alright. He just needed a little time to recover.

The door of Naruto hospital room opened and a doctor walked out. She was obviously an older woman but looked younger than expected. Her long blonde hair was in two ponytails in the back and under her open hospital coat, she wore a grey top which gave great attention to her large breast size.

"So you're Uchiha?" The doctor surveyed him with skeptical brown eyes, it was at this point that Sasuke noticed she had a blue diamond tattoo on the middle of her forehead.

Sasuke, who'd halted in his pacing, nodded slightly. He eyed her as well, thinking her odd for a doctor.

"Uzumaki will be fine in a few days. Now scram, I don't need any eyesores loitering in my hallways." The raven was left stunned for a moment as she turned to walk away. He'd never seen a doctor like her.

"Wait a minute!" Sasuke ran after her. "You can't just tell me to get out, I want to know what's wrong with him."

The woman stopped abruptly and turned on her heel to face him. "Were you with him when he got these injuries?"

Sasuke was taken off-guard by her sudden halt, he could have sworn her hair almost wiped him in the face. "Um, no."

"Did he tell you how he obtained them?"

"... No. I just found him like that."

"Then that's no help to me now is it? He has the injuries and that's all there is to it. I've taken care of them, and they will heal like every other injury."

Sasuke furrowed her eyebrows, though she did speak the truth, doctors shouldn't be that rude. "Can't you tell something about his wounds. How he might have gotten them?" His mind was concentrated on Emi, if she did this to Naruto, he really might kill her.

The doctor sighed and rolled her eyes, as though it was a hassle and a waste of time for her to explain a patient's case. "Look, you shouldn't even be here kid. You're not family. You're lucky we even let you in here. So if you want to know anything about Uzumaki, I suggest you contact his aunt, who we can't get a hold of, and bring her here."

"The hell I will! You probably don't even care about what happens to Naruto! How do I even know you treated him?" Sasuke yelled, clearly angry that she'd tell him to find the one who could very well be responsible for these injuries. His accusation, however, angered the doctor how glared darkly.

"Look you little punk! Most people in this hospital still hate that boy because of his mother, but despite any personal issues that may arise I take my profession seriously! Never accuse me of neglecting a patient."

"Most people? So you don't?" Sasuke asked, not showing any response to how pissed off she became.

This caused her to scoff but she answered nonetheless. "I don't blame people for the actions of another. Nor do I hate without reason."

"But you do turn a blind eye like everyone else?"

Again, this evoked another stern look. "I don't interrupt in affairs that don't concern me."

The response sickened him, but he didn't argue against it. It was her choice to stand by and let things happen. "Fine, thanks for your help." This sentence was void of any emotion as he turned in the opposite direction to leave.

As he walked the silence of nothing but his own footsteps, her voice startled him. "She didn't do this."

He stopped instantly but did not turn around.

"She wouldn't risk turning a gun on him."

Gun! Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't be serious.

"He has two bullet wounds and she has no gun to my knowledge."

"How do you-"

"My knowledge is always right. I keep an eye on many things."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, he was about to ask who exactly she was but an announcement on the overhead cut him off.

"Tsunade-sama, please report the SRU ward. Tsunade-sama to SRU." (1)

The woman sighed, "It's been good kid. Go home for now, let him rest and come back tomorrow. I'll be here sometime around noon." With that she walked off to what he presumed to be the SRU ward, leaving him to stand slightly stunned.

"Thanks, Tsunade..." He muttered, glancing over to Naruto's hospital room. "I'll be back tomorrow, Naruto. Don't worry. I think you're in good hands." He didn't exactly know what her background was or why she was different from the others, but he knew she had good intentions.

By now it was so dark that Sasuke had a hard time making his way there. Of course he walked from the hospital, the air was good for him and the darker the sky, the fresher the air. And due to the fact that his house was on the other side of town, out of town a ways in fact, he didn't arrive home until somewhere close to 2 am. At this point he was very tired as well, both emotionally and physically. So much stress. The walk home offered a good thinking opportunity, especially thoughts about the gun wounds. It was obvious to him who could bring about such an injury. If only Naruto had listened to him about Gaara, then this would have been prevented... but he couldn't help but blame himself. He should have tried harder, he should have thrown Naruto up against a wall and... well he did that already but he should have beat the truth into him. Why hadn't he been there, especially when he was lying unconscious on his doorstep.

He never should have gone to that movie. If he had kept to his normal ways and turned Kiba's offer down like he always did, he might have been home at the exact moment when Naruto got there. He could have helped sooner and maybe questioned whoever brought him there because Naruto surely couldn't have made it to his house in the condition he found him in. Perhaps he'd actually know something that happened to his love other than the fact that he was shot by hell knows who and why.

Sasuke grumbled to himself as he unlocked his front door. He shouldn't be beating himself up over this. He had no way of knowing that Naruto was in any sort of trouble and that he would be at his home. He had gotten home, and taken care of everything the best to his ability. And now the blonde was safely in a hospital receiving medical care from a person who was different from the rest of the ignorant, cruel Konoha townsmen.

Speaking of that doctor... Tsunade was it? He would have to find out more about her. He'd definitely speak with her tomorrow when he visited Naruto at lunch. She intrigued him no doubt. Sasuke was amazed that she could say she stayed out of issues that did not concern her, yet she apparently kept an eye on things.

As he turned the handle of his now unlocked door, the raven yawned. He certainly was tired after everything that happened and now he needed to go to bed and sleep before tomorrow morning.

The door opened, and Sasuke stopped mid-step as he was about to walk inside. He knew instantly that something about his home was not right. Something about the atmosphere was off. His mind could only come up with one explanation... someone had been there. Although it was obvious to him that whoever or whatever had left, he still could only think of one person who would enter his home without him being there and with the door locked.

He walked inside, not bothering to close the door and searched his entire first floor. Nothing was amiss or moved or even touched. Strange... but not really at the same time. Venturing upstairs, everything was in it's exact place, just as untouched as it had been before he left. He sighed as he went back down the stairs, heading back to the front hall to get the door he left open. It was weird that everything but the feeling was exactly the same. Maybe it was just his overtired paranoia kicking in. That had to be it.

Running his hand through his hair, he made his way back down the hall towards his open doorway when a flashing orange light from his living room caught his eye. The answering machine had a message on it. Why hadn't he noticed when he checked there? Too busy looking for moved furniture or valuables? Slowly he made his way to his phone next to his couch and pressed the play button.

"You have one new message. Beep. ... Hello little brother... -"

Sasuke froze stiff, he didn't even hear the rest of the computerized voice explaining his options. He dared not to even breath. No... that was not him. It must have been a prank. A cruel, sick, twisted joke that someone who happened to remember what happened in his well covered up past.

A bang from his doorway made him jump out of his skin and nearly shout. Hastily he turned towards the door and prepared for the worst when he noticed his door was just swing back and forth in the wind. Knocking against the doorway. Sasuke sighed in relief. He should have known better than to think his sadistic brother would just show up at the front door.

Sasuke walked into his math class late the next day. He'd been so paranoid that night that it took forever for him to fall asleep and by the time he did it was already late into the morning, so he ended up sleeping past his alarm. Luckily he was quick at getting ready, and he was a fast runner so he only missed his first class and 10 minutes of his math class.

Ibiki appeared confused that it was the Uchiha handing him the unexcused late slip but quickly masked it with his usual scowl as he began his well known lecture of how walking in late was rude and should be punishable by a long excruciatingly painful torture method that had been banned for centuries. Sure that took up even more time than if someone were to just come in late and sit down... but Ibiki seemed to enjoy humiliating students with the over-used speech rather than continuing with his lesson.

Sasuke, however, wasn't embarrassed. In fact he wasn't even paying attention to the teacher's harsh words. His mind was occupied with the words of his answering machine and the memories they invoked, as they'd been all night. The words that his older brother spoke in a voice he had never forgotten. Just when things happen with Naruto... he has to make things worse by bringing his past back to creep up on him.

His mind was so wrapped up on this that it took Sasuke a while to realize a finger was jabbing into his side.

"What?" Sasuke snapped at whom he automatically registered as Kiba without having to turn in their direction.

"Dude, you're never late. And you're paler than usual. What happened? That movie get to you worse than Tenten?"

The raven had forgotten all about The Strangers movie that he went to see with them. But this was far worse... his brother could make the most terrifying horror movie just by filming 'a-day-in-the-life-of.'

"I... I just didn't get that much sleep last night. Probably the movie yeah," Sasuke lied, no one, especially Kiba, needed to know what really happened.

Kiba, of course, didn't buy a second of it. He wasn't too bright but he had amazingly accurate instincts and in tune senses. But before he could start questioning as to why Sasuke was lying, he received a stern look from Ibiki and shut up instantly. It appeared Kiba was learning his lesson about testing Ibiki's patience and didn't seem to want to give himself extra homework... as well as more hatred from everyone in the class, except Sasuke.

Even as Kiba went back to pretending he was paying attention to Ibiki, the raven knew the Inuzuka wasn't going to just let his suspicions drop. For now though, Sasuke could sit and complex over what he was going to do.

As soon as the bell rang, Sasuke made for the door as quickly as his legs could take him. It was a very unusual act for the Uchiha, which never happened but somehow Kiba anticipated this and caught up with him outside the doorway, grabbing his arm so he couldn't get away. Sasuke growled at his failed escape attempt but he knew he would have bee cornered by Kiba eventually. He just would rather have it be later than sooner so he could come up with a reasonable excuse. Also he had decided to visit Naruto at the hospital now instead of waiting until lunch. He was getting restless and wanted to see him, so he wasn't going to have Kiba hold him back.

So, taking his opportunity, he hit Kiba's hand with his binder, causing him to release him and ran through a crowded group and down the hall. Somehow he managed to hear his friend yelling after him over the noise of the hallway that he'd get him eventually.

(1) SRU is the Surgery Receiving Unit, in case anyone really cared haha