Hello again, I am very busy so chapters will be scarce but I'm trying my best through studying, etc. I'd like to start this chapter off by saying I do not know much about bullet wounds and the treatment of such things. I have researched a bit about them, and found some things that helped me be more accurate than I was (because I know it was horrible in previous chapters). But I couldn't find everything about everything so if some things don't add up or if they aren't accurate, please don't be pissed at me. I am using the best google can offer, as well as several episode of CSI and other random readings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Concrete Angel

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Chapter Twenty Four:

"Where the fuck have you been, Uchiha?" Just as the raven haired walked into the medical building he was greeted with an angry voice and a sharp blow to the back of the head. The sound of which echoed throughout the entire lobby, shortly followed by a groan of pain. In any normal situation Sasuke would ask what the fuck was wrong with this doctor, but on a day like today... he settled for a silent and deadly glare.

"Too bad looks can't kill, Uchiha." Tsunade-sama glared down at the boy with the same intensity, if not more, implying that her look would have killed Sasuke before he even had a chance. "Learn to answer your phone." Was the last thing she said in a threatening voice before heading over to the elevator, Sasuke following promptly, nursing the back of his throbbing head while the elder woman's back was turned.

"How do you intend to transport Uzumaki to your home?" Tsunade actually asked, shocking Sasuke for a moment as the elevator doors closed. He may not have known her very long but she never asked anything, it was always told or demanded.

"Cab,"

He figured he would receive some sort of remark for using a taxi as a form of transporting an injured person, but Tsunade just nodded.

"I want to point out a few things."

Here we go. The Uchiha couldn't help but think. It was rather odd that even though the two haven't known each other long, they still acted so familiar. In a weird way they bonded into a closer relationship... all because of Naruto.

"You know he isn't to over-exert himself."

"Yes." Sasuke answered, not sure where this was headed.



"I do not want your relationship to get in the way of this." She stated this very simply, as though it was something so far out in the open that it was natural to discuss.

"What?"

"Here I'll put it in simpler terms for you. Despite what you two want to do to each other-"

"Enough!" The elevator door gratefully opened at this moment and Sasuke took this opportunity to stride outside and away from the old blonde. Sure they were being familiar with each other but that type of familiar was surely not permitted between such a short acquaintances. And why would she even bring this up? Even he hadn't really thought about doing anything... strenuous yet. He would obviously give Naruto a considerable amount of time, and it wasn't like he himself was... experienced or anything.

"Oh calm your nerves Uchiha. It was just a fun little method of leading into the more medical bull I have to dish out." Tsunade all but laughed, like the sadistic old hag she was. Or at least that was how Sasuke felt about her just then as he glared back at her.

"He won't be too difficult to care for, probably just like any other time you've bandaged him up." Sasuke took note of this assumption she made, as true as it may be she really didn't have any evidence that it had happened in the past. "His injuries are not severe, only minor soft tissue damage. Since the both bullets luckily went clean through, they missed anything vital and didn't cause any fractures. In normal cases like this, antibiotics wouldn't even be necessary. But in Naruto's case, since we don't know how long of a delay it was for him to receive treatment, and because there's more than one gunshot wound, I'm not taking any chances of infection.

"You'll have to treat him, of course, and I'm sure I don't have to explain anything to you. You seem the type to have already had first aid training and all that, plus you have experience with our patient. Oh, and I've prescribed him some pain relievers. He'll need to take one every six hours. He's already had one three hours ago, so in another three make sure he gets one." (1)

Sasuke just nodded along, taking a mental note of everything the doctor was saying. It was relatively simplistic stuff. He would have no problem with this, not that he had originally thought he would have.

"Now on to more pressing matters," Tsunade's words stopped Sasuke from turning to walk down the rest of the hallway. "Personally I don't care much about what's going on in your life, but make sure your haunted look and whatever is causing it doesn't affect Uzumaki."

With that said, in a rather protective voice, Tsunade-sama nodded towards Naruto's doorway, staying exactly where she was.

Sasuke eyed her over, suppressing a scowl. Sure she was right in not allowing Sasuke's troubles affect Naruto but there the bluntness was unnecessary. So much for establishing some sort of relationship... or perhaps this is how theirs was supposed to be.

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Naruto found himself sitting upright on his hospital bed, holding his injured arm. Technically he didn't need to hold it himself since it was up in a sling, but he didn't trust it. The sling felt so loose, and he was paranoid that if he let his arm relax, it would fall down into the hammock-like pattern too far and pull on both of his gunshot wounds.

That in itself was hard to get through his mind. Gunshot wounds were stereotyped to only happen in big cities, or at least that was what people said around the school whenever they discussed movies or songs or something that contained gunfights. And to have something like this happen to him, twice, felt so abnormal... or at least more abnormal than the usual abnormality of his life.

Naruto sighed. It wouldn't be long before he was to be picked up by... whoever it was that Tsunade had yet to reach. This fact made the blonde wearier that Emi was the one the doctor was attempting to contact. Apparently that woman, his aunt, was very difficult to reach, even when she was at home. However, the home part was mostly due to the fact that she was either drunk out of her mind, beating the living pulp out of her nephew, she had unplugged the phone, or, as of late, wasn't even at home due to something told to her by the Sabaku family.

Naruto hoped full heartedly that Tsunade wasn't planning on having his aunt retrieve him from the hospital. Because either Naruto would become a permanent resident of the hospital, or, as Naruto feared, Emi would be livid. If she heard that her nephew had once again 'tarnished her family name' and 'brought more unwanted attention' to his dead mother, she would be the angriest she'd even been in her entire life. This accompanied by the abuse that would follow shortly after she dragged him back to the house. With this knowledge, Naruto came to the conclusion that he would much rather take another bullet than endure his aunt's reaction.

A knock on the door startled him, causing him to jump off the bed and onto his feet. However, the immediate pain caused from the abrupt shifting of his injured arm made him fall back onto the bed, returning to his sitting position. Only now he was nursing his arm, trying to make the sharp pains shooting through it to stop.

He looked towards the door as it opened, temporarily forgetting the pain as he waited for the terrifying result. Surprisingly he was greeted by the sight of a young, familiar raven.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's confusion was thick and obvious. Why on earth would Sasuke be here at this very point in time? He couldn't possibly...

"Hey Naruto, how are you holding up?" Sasuke offered a warm smile as he entered the room and the closer he got, the more exhausted he appeared. Not to mention under the dim light, Naruto could notice how haunted his eyes looked. Despite the obvious traits, Sasuke seemed to be trying very hard to mask this, which without question meant something was drastically wrong. As long as he'd known of Sasuke, he knew that the raven had a knack at hiding whatever emotions he so chose, even all of them at times.



Due to the fact that Sasuke didn't want to disturb Naruto with his own emotions, Naruto tried his hardest to look past this and offered a weak smile of his own, followed by an unexpected wince. Of course he had to recall his own pain in his arm at this very moment.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke's concern was immediate, as was his present beside Naruto on his bed.

"Oh, I just pulled my arm. It's nothing major. The pain will go away soon." The blonde tried his hardest to reassure the raven that it really wasn't anything to worry over.

Sasuke sighed, "Yeah, okay." He'd have to get used to this. There was no way he could get so worked up over every little pain the blonde had if he was going to be living with him for a week. But as Sasuke ran his hand through his hair, he realized this was going to be quite stressful for him. Not because Naruto was going to be difficult to take care of, but because Sasuke knew he would worry about every little thing, and not just everything with Naruto. Noises, strange sounds and shadows, anything that seemed out of the ordinary would get to him.

He wasn't sure anymore if he was mentally fit to look after another person, but he wasn't about to confess his finding to Tsunade. He was going to have to suck it up for a bit and attempt to push his past aside for at least a week, if his past would even permit him to do this. Sasuke had to focus on more important matters.

A cold chill ran down Sasuke's spine, the type of cold chill you got when someone was watching you intently. But just as soon as panic set in, it disappeared when he realized it was Naruto. His features appeared concerning and analytical as he gazed upon Sasuke's body. Perhaps in the raven's silence the blonde had figured out something awful was troubling him. Tsunade would kill him.

"Uh... so, Naruto..." Sasuke started to tell him about the current situation, he knew Tsunade obviously hadn't told the blonde he was staying at Sasuke's home due to how confused he had been to see Sasuke walk through the door. But he honestly didn't know how to begin. It seemed slightly awkward that after their brief connection he was asking the other to stay with him for a week, anyone could assume the implications that could be hidden behind a question like that. Even though for Sasuke there technically weren't any implications to be found.

"Would you... like to stay at my place for a while? You know, until you're better?" The raven averted his eyes in slight embarrassment, even though he knew he had nothing to be embarrassed about. But he had no idea how Naruto would respond to it, and it was hoping he didn't refuse.

The blonde was silent. He must have been taken aback or momentarily shocked by the question because this silence stretched on. It unnerved the Uchiha and just as he moved to bring his eyes back upon the blonde, Naruto spoke.

"Yes,"

Sasuke's eyes lifted to see Naruto with a beaming smile on his face. And for some reason, he looked very relieved.



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(1) I am not going to specify which pain killers Naruto is going to be taking because I am not a doctor and don't know what to prescribe for the pain caused by minor gunshot wounds. The closest I could find was Vicodin (no I was not thinking about House lol) and so I'm using one of the usual dosages for that.