I think I might be getting better at this whole updating thing... haha but let's not jinx ourselves... or myself or whatever... let's not risk anything by mentioning it.

I know you may not care... but my current ringtone is the ringtone from One Missed Call, and the original Japanese one too, not the shitty American one (which isn't creepy in the least! Especially compared to the eerie one from Chakushin Ari, that's the Japanese name). Okay... back to Naruto...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Concrete Angel

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Chapter Thirty Seven:

"I didn't tell you one part of my past..." Sasuke was lying on his back, his head propped up by the arm of the couch and with Naruto's body resting just next to, if not on, his own. He was holding Naruto close by keeping one arm around his back and linking his other hand with Naruto's right, which lay across his own stomach. Naruto also wasn't too keen on releasing the other because his grip was deadly.

This confession caused their silent peaceful moment on the couch to be interrupted, Naruto looking up, but not lifting his head, from Sasuke's chest. It seemed that he wanted to speak, to ask what Sasuke meant, but he was willing to give him time.

"After Itachi told me why he killed our family, I ran... I was a coward and I couldn't stand up to him."

"Sasuke, you were only seven, of course you were scared." His voice was meant to reassure Sasuke that he was right and that he shouldn't be ashamed of himself for running away, it was only natural and it was not his fault at all.

"Yeah... but running down that street was the most pathetic point in my life. I was pleading with him, begging him not to kill me... and he told me I wasn't worth killing."

Sasuke knew in the logically analytical part of his mind that having been told that was technically a good thing because he was still alive today. Now Sasuke was glad he was alive because he'd gotten to be with Naruto, but before Naruto, he wished everyday that Itachi had killed him so that his last words to him hadn't come true.

"The last thing he said to me before leaving... shapes my life now..." He was speaking slowly, not entirely choosing his words, just speaking how he felt and how he's been feeling for a good part of his life. "He told me that... if you wish to kill me one day, foster your hatred and despise me. Surviving in such an unsightly manner as this. By all means flee, cling to your wretched life." During that moment, it felt as though Itachi's own mouth took over his own, and he could envision his brother at that time, saying this to him with such a terribly calm expression.

"Every day I'm haunted by his words... I cling to the life he'd given me, and every day I hate and despise him more. More than anything... I want to kill him with my own hands." This was the first time Sasuke had ever verbally said his inner wish. The horrible, despicable truth that he actually wanted to commit such an illegal act.

Somehow it always seemed as though feeling this way, made Sasuke sink to Itachi's level, but deep down Sasuke had convinced himself that it was not the case. The younger Uchiha could never be able to stoop to his brother's level and kill everyone who loved him just to prove himself. In wishing to end his brother's life, Sasuke was in no way proving himself, he was avenging his family. However still, deep in the bottom of his stomach, something told Sasuke that by doing this he also wanted to show he wasn't weak in comparison to his overshadowing brother. This guilt was what added to his suffering.

"Sasuke..." Naruto murmured, it appeared that he didn't know how to take in this information. Sasuke wasn't surprised, it wasn't an everyday occurrence for someone to tell you that they wished to kill their own family.

"I... I know how you feel..." He spoke shyly, looking up at the Uchiha cautiously.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, staring down at the blonde for an answer. He wasn't angry with Naruto for assuming he knew how he felt, since that wasn't exactly possible for anyone to know how he felt, but it seemed like an odd thing for Naruto to agree with.

"I didn't mean it like I know exactly!" The blonde interpreted Sasuke's confusion as something he didn't mean to express it as, but he continued on quickly, "I mean, of course I can't know how you feel with everything you've been to but... I just mean... Well, I've often thought about... thought about how much better my life would be if Emi were dead."

A strange gaze passed within Naruto's blue eyes, looking quite out of place and not at all Naruto, but it gradually faded away. Sasuke wanted to speak, to ask him something or comment, but he didn't really know what to say to that. He agreed completely and had often thought that Naruto's life would be better without Emi, but the idea that Naruto could think such a thought seemed out of place for the timid blonde, at least to Sasuke, but it made sense.

"Which is why I could never be angry with you, or look at you differently for telling me how you feel about your brother. I understand why you think that way and..."

The blonde let his sentence trail off, now unsure of himself as the majority of his confidence had been used to tell Sasuke about his own secret wish.

Sasuke didn't mind, however. He just smiled softly down at his boyfriend, glad he wasn't freaked out, and hugged him closer with his right arm and squeezing Naruto's hand with his left that was still intertwined with Naruto's. "Thank you."

Naruto only nodded. A response wasn't needed and both of them knew it.

For several minutes, they laid there in silence, only breathing in each other's scents and wishing that things could stay exactly as they were in this moment. Never to change, never to go wrong, never to be torn apart.

"What now?" Naruto asked in a low, timid voice, finally breaking the silence.

Sasuke sighed loudly, biting his lower lip as he finished thinking things over, which was mostly what he'd been doing since he'd gotten off the phone with Tsunade.

"You'll go with Tsunade when she comes to pick you up," He paused to glance up at the clock, seeing that they only had a half hour alone together, "when she comes to pick you up in thirty minutes."

"Sasuke, please, I don't want to go. I don't want to be separated from you, I can't. It doesn't matter to me that Itachi might be coming, I just want to be with you." Naruto pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes, splitting Sasuke's heart.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I want to be with you to, always together with you, but I can't let you be around me now. If I were the cause of your life being in danger or if something bad happened to you because of me, I would never be able to live with myself. It's for your own good. I need you to be safe."

"What about you?" Naruto cried, shifting to prop himself up with his good elbow, letting go of Sasuke's hand in the process. "Your life is in danger with him calling you! Why don't you get protection? Why do you have to be here and risk your life? What would I do if something happened to you?"

The blonde was almost in tears now, and it was shattering Sasuke's heart, but right now he had to be strong and stern, for Naruto's sake. "You'll live on. You will show the world that they were wrong about you and they'll see what a great person you are. That's what you'll do with or without me."

"Sasuke-"

"No, Naruto. I have to do this."

The salty water dripped freely from Naruto's eyes now and he went to beg with Sasuke again, but the raven cut him off before sound could form on his lips.

"I have to do this." Sasuke's voice was assertive and left no room for question. This literally was something that Sasuke had to face, a part in his life he always knew was going to come at some point. He had attempted to prepare for this day, but when you're preparing to have your older brother come back to finish off the only family member he hadn't killed... what exactly can you do?

Naruto didn't speak any further, just let out a choked sob as he collapsed onto his boyfriend's chest, allowing himself to cry loudly and freely.

The Uchiha wrapped both of his arms around the blonde, stroking his back comfortingly. Though it was impossible to truly calm the blonde down or offer him comfort after it had been confirmed that he was being sent away from the one he loved. Both were aware it was indefinite, neither would be sure how long they would be apart but they knew it wouldn't just be for a few days, but they didn't speak this aloud for fear it would sink in and increase the damage to their hearts.

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"Couldn't you call the cops? Ask for special protection?" Naruto asked a question that was very similar to one he'd already asked. For the past ten minutes, as the two packed a bag for Naruto so he could have something to wear while he was with Tsunade, Naruto had been bringing up suggestions in the form of questions that could solve their current problem. He was wishing and hoping that he could get through to him to change his mind. So they could stay together.

"No, Naruto." Sasuke answered in the same strict voice he'd been using for the same amount of time. It was as though the raven refused to show his true emotions, fearing that his will would break and he would send Tsunade away so he could keep Naruto with him. Oh how Naruto wished that will would snap already.

"We could go away for a while, not tell anyone where we're going. Itachi wouldn't be able to find us."

"You don't know him. He'd find us. You're going with Tsunade, end of story."

Naruto groaned quietly, he didn't want to give up, he wanted to keep resisting to make sure Sasuke knew how much he didn't want to leave him. He wanted to be by his side, to support him through this. Maybe even protect him somehow from his brother, even though that didn't seem very plausible on Naruto's end.

"Sasuke... isn't there something else we can do?" Naruto asked earnestly this time, causing Sasuke to momentarily stop packing what clothes he thought would be good for Naruto.

"I don't think so..." He said thoughtfully, not turning around to face the blonde. "I really wish there were but... I need to face things."

Naruto let out a soft sigh of resignation, lowering his gaze to his lap. He didn't want things to be this way, but he was now resigned to stop resisting. He had to come to terms with this and leaving it to the last second in this situation didn't seem very logical.

"I'll get ahold of you once I've settled things." His voice was very solemn as he said this and Naruto tried not to let it get to him.

"Yeah... I'll wait." The blonde's reply was barely above a whisper. He couldn't help how depressed this made him. Knowing he would be kept away from the one he loved and in the presence of some peculiar doctor that... well, why was she being the way she was?

"Sasuke?"

"Naruto, I thought we just-"

"No, I was going to ask why Tsunade is coming to get me. Why is she so concerned?"

This question actually made Sasuke stop what he was doing and turn around. Naruto looked at him expectantly, but strangely enough Sasuke didn't speak. His expression suggested that he knew something about the matter but couldn't figure out how to tell him.

"I'm not sure really. But I think she's been looking over you, or Emi at least in concern for you, for a while now."

"What?" Naruto was genuinely shocked, completely taken aback by what his boyfriend said. There was no way there could be another person in this town, along side Sasuke, who cared about his wellbeing.

"When I first met her in the hospital, you were still unconscious. She wouldn't let me in to see you and she wouldn't tell me about your injuries. When she said I needed to bring your aunt in because she was your only family member I snapped at her and accused her of being like everyone else, saying that I couldn't even be sure that she'd treated you.

"That pissed her off and she told me that she'd never neglect a patient. That she didn't blame someone for something someone else did, nor did she hate without reason. She assured me that Emi wasn't the cause of your wounds and that she didn't own a gun. Which sounded weird to me of course because how would she know. Then she told me that her knowledge was always right and that she keeps an eye on several things."

Naruto sat still on the bed, staring blankly at Sasuke who'd finished telling his story. It was all so surreal. How, or why rather, in the world would Tsunade be keeping an eye on him? What reasons did she have for doing it? Was she just a creeper you got some sick pleasure out of witnessing Emi abuse her nephew? Or did she sincerely care about him, though not enough to interfere and rescue him from the abuse? All sorts of questions ran through Naruto's perplexed mind, questions that he guessed he'd have to ask since he'd have plenty of time staying with the doctor, or so he assumed. That caused another idea to occur to him.

"Am I even staying with Tsunade?"

Sasuke's face flashed with confusion, not at all expecting that question after what he'd just told the blonde.

"Well, all of that is strange and it really confuses me but I can't exactly ask you why or how she'd be doing that because you wouldn't know, would you?"

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto inwardly smiled, he'd had a point and shut the raven up for once.

"So I figured I could ask her about all of this while I'm staying with her... give me something to do while I'm not with you. Not to mention it's really suspicious of me to be staying with her without some sort of information as to why. But what if I'm not staying with her? What if she just dismisses me on someone else?"

"No." Sasuke shook his head, very confident in his denial. "The way Tsunade sounded, how worried for you she was, I can tell she's the one taking you in. Don't worry, you can ask her everything. Then you can report back to me why she's so insane when you get back."

Naruto smiled, loving that his boyfriend ended it off on a cheery note and a smile of his own. With his eyes now brighter than their previous dullness, the blonde nodded happily.

A loud bang from downstairs startled both of the boys, interrupting their moment.

"Uchiha!" An agitated female voice hollered from the first floor, the stomping of her feet equally as audible.

Naruto's good mood quickly fell, all happiness draining from his face. All the anxiety of leaving Sasuke's side that he'd thought he'd just finished getting over came rushing back like a splash of ice cold water.

"Guess it's time..." Sasuke spoke lowly, melancholy evident in his voice, finally showing Naruto how much he didn't want him to leave him.

"Yeah..." Naruto muttered, holding his tears back this time.

"Get your asses down here!" Tsunade's volume had increased, as had her anger.

"We're coming you old hag!" Sasuke yelled back in a much louder, resenting voice. Of course Sasuke probably only sounded more powerful because Naruto was standing much closer to Sasuke than Tsunade was. What Naruto hadn't expected was the tone and the language Sasuke used with an elder woman he barely knew. Something told him that those two hadn't gotten along well since the get-go, perhaps it was a clash in personality.

"Sasuke... I..." Ignoring the yelling between the two, Naruto turned his sad eyes upon his boyfriend and was instantly embraced. All Sasuke's irritation with Tsunade appeared to be put aside and he held so tightly to the blonde as though the firmer he clutched him the longer their time left to together would be.

Once again Naruto cursed that his arm was injured because he was unable to cling as tightly to his boyfriend as he wished. He wanted to merge their bodies together so they could never have to separate.

"I love you, Naruto." Sasuke quiet but sincere whisper in his ear caused the dam to break and tears sprang forth from his cerulean blue eyes.

"I... love you too..." He cried on Sasuke's shoulder, gripping his shirt in his hand.

"As much as it touches my heart to see the works of a budding young love," Tsunade's strict voice was entirely unwelcomed at this point in time, "I have a schedule to keep and he needs to hurry up and get in the car."

Sasuke opened his eyes to glare at her through the golden color of Naruto's hair, "You shouldn't go wandering through someone else's house uninvited."

"You should have had him ready." Both of their tones were cold, as were their looks.

Reluctantly, Naruto wormed out of Sasuke's hold and turned to face the blonde doctor. "Sorry to keep you waiting Tsunade but Sasuke's right, you have no right to come into this house." He was somewhat surprised at how chilled his own voice became but he guessed subconsciously he really hated the woman for bringing the time of their separation much sooner than expected.

"Damned brats. Learn to respect your superiors!" Tsunade growled.

"People don't automatically assume respect with age," Sasuke retorted, causing Tsunade's eye to twitch in anger.

"Uchiha, just because you're cute doesn't mean I'm going to let you off the hook. Now get him ready before I make you a permanent resident in my hospital, and trust me, I can get away with prescribing drugs without cause." Her threat seemed so eerie in the somewhat upbeat tone she presented it in, but the stress in her voice and her expression made it obvious that she probably wouldn't follow through with the treat for now but she was going to snap very soon if things continued.

Sasuke seemed about ready to make another rude comment but Naruto quickly cut him off. "We'll be downstairs in a moment. Just let me finish getting my bag together."

Tsunade's glare didn't lighten but she nodded, shooting daggers at the raven one last time before turning on her heel and stomping down the hallway.

"Man... she's got some temper," Naruto commented with a sigh of relief now that the tension in the air had died down a little.

"I guess," Sasuke said this with the same irritation still on his lips as he turned around to finish packing some things for Naruto.

"I'm sure she can't be that bad, she has nice taste at least," Naruto was of course referring to the fact that Tsunade had called him cute, though not in the most endearing of sentences.

Sasuke turned his head to look back at his boyfriend who wore a large smirk on his lips. He chuckled as Naruto moved closer and swiftly Sasuke filled in the space between them, leaning in closely so their lips were but a whisper away.

Naruto laughed sweetly, rubbing Sasuke's nose with the tip of his own in an eskimo kiss before the raven claimed his lips in a passionate, overwhelming kiss. Without waiting for Sasuke to ask, Naruto parted his lips to allow their tongues to intermingle and he tilted his head back so his partner could gain even further access.

They both moaned into the impassioned embrace. Knowing that this would be the last time for a long while, they clung to each other and yielded their emotions onto the other through means of their lips.

They didn't stop or pull away until the very last second when oxygen became a dire necessity and as their lips parted, they gazed into each other's eyes longingly.

Sasuke sighed as he regained his breath, brushing away a tear that fell across Naruto's cheek with his thumb, gently carressing the soft skin.

"We should go before she yells at us again," The raven stated with a sad smile as he turned and finished packing things into the bag.

Naruto reached out to take it but Sasuke instead put his own hand into the blonde's outstretched one. He flashed him a cheeky smile before taking the bag in his free hand, leading the blonde downstairs.

Tsunade was pacing about the hallway when they got downstairs, not looking very impressed with the slow boys. Before either one of them could speak with her, she stepped forward and grabbed the bag from Sasuke's hand, marching back down the hall and outside, leaving the door open.

The boys promptly followed, hand in hand, and stood beside Tsunade's black convertible Mercedes. Sasuke's eyebrow raised at this, surely Tsunade was too old to own a vehicle like this. He questioned whether she had the capability to drive it or not, but not aloud, he didn't want to start another argument when he had very little time left with his love.

The blonde doctor through the bag into the backseat before opening the driver's door and turning her eyes upon Naruto. "Let's go, Uzumaki."

Naruto looked up into Sasuke's dark eyes which gaze never seemed to leave him.

"I'll see you soon." Sasuke assured him with a light smile, obviously a forced one for his sake but Naruto didn't comment on it.

"Yeah, soon." He really did hope that they wouldn't be apart for too long, and that Sasuke would still be here for him. He couldn't bare to think of what would happen if he weren't.

Moving in closer, Sasuke kissed the blonde's forehead, and then released Naruto's hand and backed away. Which was a good call because Naruto did not have the power within himself to let his boyfriend go or move away from him. But with that little urge, Naruto took in a deep breath and was able to walk over to the car and into the passenger seat. As he sat there, he never took his eyes off of Sasuke's, which in turn never left his own.

Tsunade wasn't too concerned about giving them anymore time together and quickly put the car in reverse, pulling out of the driveway so fast that Naruto's head rocked back and forth, and then she speed away down the road, forcing Naruto to turn about in his seat to watch as Sasuke's form became smaller and smaller.