Hey there! I know it's taken a while but inspiration has been lacking a great deal. I have a new site up and running to showcase my writing (both fanfiction and original fiction, as well as poetry). Check it out at { www (dot) arrafrost (dot) webs (dot) com }
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride
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Chapter Fourty Six:
"Damn it Sasuke! How did you still get higher than me?" Kiba snarled as he waved Sasuke's test in his face. Sasuke had taken a major math test that he had missed during lunch hour. Ibiki graded it over the next two hour periods and once Sasuke met up with Kiba, they went to retrieve it. Sasuke had gotten a 93 on the test. Kiba had, without missing any classes, gotten an 84.
"I'm naturally smarter than you, Kiba. I can't help that." Sasuke laughed, grabbing his test back from his exaggerating friend.
"Oh you cocky little bastard." Kiba glared and crossed his arms, adding a pout on top of everything else.
Sasuke rose his eyebrow and shook his head as they approached a turn in the hallway. "You know that doesn't work me with-"
"Shush!" Kiba pressed his index finger to his lips and pushed Sasuke back against the wall.
"What the hell Kiba?" Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on but he was certain there was no reason to be so cautious inside a high school. What trouble could really be in the hallway? Then again... this morning wasn't the greatest to be trapped in.
"Shush!" He gestured to the lockers just before them and Sasuke saw that a group of girls, maybe three or four, were gathered before Sakura and Ino.
"Okay, we need to figure out who turned Sasuke gay!" Sakura proclaimed.
"Sasuke never used to be so there must have been someone who contaminated him!" Ino chimed in, encouraging the girls on.
"Could it be Kiba? He was there with him this morning?"
"I'm not gay!" Kiba growled in a low whisper. Sasuke merely chuckled at him in his mind.
"No, Kiba isn't gay. Especially not with Sasuke. He's just a wannabe loser always tagging along with Sasuke." Ino spoke in a snide voice, her disgust for Kiba very apparent.
"Then how in this school could have done that?" One of the girls snapped.
"We don't know any other openly gay guys, except Sasuke now... so it's not like we'd be able to figure it out." One of the girls spoke calmly.
"I like her! At least one of them isn't as psycho as the rest." Kiba laughed, elbowing Sasuke in the stomach.
All the girls turned on the one sensible girl with snarls and scowls, causing her to instantly back away and present herself as anything but a threat to their superiority.
"I want to know who he's with!" Ino growled, clenching her fists, frightening some of the girls. It was surprising how psychotic some of these girls could get over an overdeveloped crush.
"I know!" Sakura suddenly announced, looking smug about her brand new idea. "We'll take shifts trailing him. I'm sure if one of us follows him for long, we'll find who he's going with!"
"But!" Ino added, receiving a glare from Sakura, "If any one of you keeps this to yourself," her eyes narrowed in on the one girl who had spoken against their irrational ideas earlier, "we'll be sure to ruin you in ways you can't possibly imagine."
"Man Sasuke! These girls are prime examples of why stars have body guards!" Kiba turned back as he said this but was surprised to find that Sasuke was moving out from behind him and towards the hallway which the fangirls inhabited.
"Wait! You don't want to get involved in that!" However, Kiba made no attempt to hold him back. He was quite content with staying a safe distance away from those girls and out of sight.
Sasuke, on the other hand, marched directly over to the girls, who gasped in both excitement and unwelcomed surprise. They tried hastily to regain their composure from the plans they had just been discussing and plaster on those beautifully disgusting smiles that were always accompanied by batting eyelashes, but that didn't faze Sasuke, not like it ever had.
"Sasuke!" Ino purred, "Have you come to apologize for hurting our feelings?"
"Enough Ino." Sasuke nearly snapped, he was beginning to have trouble keeping his anger under wraps when it came to these girls who were really pushing their luck. "If I find that any one of you are stalking me, because that's what you were planning to do is called, I will be able to press charges. Don't come around me anymore."
Sasuke gave them all the most stern of looks, which was matched by expressions of shock and fear, before turning back the way he came and walking straight past Kiba who stood wide eyed at the corner of the wall.
"Oh my god, man!" Kiba yelled at Sasuke, as soon as he came to his senses enough to run after him. "That was hellish! I can't believe you keep telling these girls off like this!"
"They are threatening my privacy. I won't tolerate their relentless, immature behaviour." Sasuke spoke strictly, not even glancing back to look at Kiba.
"Well yes they are stalkers in the making." Kiba agreed, "But.... I'm sure there is some kind of excuse for them to not be thrown in prison or juvi, they are hormonal teenagers."
Sasuke scoffed, he didn't care for any excuses for their behaviour. There was no need for him to have to be so wary of his private life.
"Don't worry about it Sasuke. I'm sure they wouldn't go so far as to pry into your sex life." Kiba patted Sasuke on the shoulder reassuringly but soon halted in his tracks. "Oh god... sex life... I just got an image..." He shuddered in disgust, "Please tell me you haven't-"
One look at Sasuke's blank yet confessing face told Kiba everything and he didn't want to have it confirmed in words as well as expressions.
"Nevermind! Don't tell me! I don't want to hear it!"
The raven chuckled and shook his head. It was entertaining to see Kiba go through such a life struggle.
"So now that school's out... I take it we're heading back to the hospital?"
Sasuke glanced over him with a look that shouted, 'why are you bothering to ask?'
"Figures." Kiba sighed, "Alright, I have my mom's car, let's go."
The two headed out of the side doors of the school towards the student parking area, yet again discussing how Kiba was not to copy off of Sasuke for their math homework.
"Hospital?" Sakura whispered to Ino from the end of the hallway where they had been hiding while they followed the two boys.
----
"How are you today?" Sasuke asked as he walked in Naruto's hospital room, closely followed by Kiba.
Naruto stretched and sat up in his bed, yawning widely. "Not baad. How was school."
Sasuke chuckled at his boyfriend's half-yawned sentence. Before he could inform Naruto about what had happened about school, Kiba spoke up first.
"Dude! Sasuke pretty much jumped out of the closet today! It was epic! Ouch!" Kiba winced when Sasuke back handed him on the arm.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and sat up straighter, eyeing Sasuke cautiously. "You told people you were gay?"
Sasuke bit his lower lip and scratched the back of his head. "Well... I guess by now the whole school would know."
"The whole school?" Naruto looked extremely worried, as though all of his worst nightmares had come true.
"He came out to those obnoxious fangirls of his. They gossip more than the women in Gossip Girls." Kiba earned a dark glare from his best friend for that comment. This time he actually learned something and stepped back to lean quietly against the wall.
"Sasuke... why would you-"
"Because I was sick of living a lie." Sasuke cut him off rather shortly. "I'm not interested in those girls, let alone any girls, and they need to know that. The only person I'm interested in is you."
Naruto didn't have time to feel special about that comment, his worry and panic took over everything. "You told them that you're going out with me?"
"No... I just told them I was gay."
Naruto let out a small sigh of relief. That was one less thing he had to worry about but Naruto was still overly concerned about what would happen to Sasuke now that people knew he was gay. He hated that he was going to destroy his boyfriend's social life for turning him gay.
"It's not my right to come out for you." Not to mention it would only be one more thing for people to hate about Naruto, Sasuke added in his head.
"Thanks Sasuke..." Naruto didn't sound all too relieved, however. "But... what about you."
"It was my choice. I'm gay and I don't care if anything changes just because I came out. If people don't like me anymore... why should I care?" Sasuke spoke strongly, reassuring Naruto that this was what he truly felt. Then he added with a playful smirk. "Besides, I didn't really care if people liked me in the first place."
"That is true." Kiba spoke up, finally at a good time. "Don't worry about him Naru. He's doesn't care what people think of him. He barely cares what I think about him."
Naruto and Sasuke laughed lightly along with them.
"Wait... Naru?"
"Oh yeah... Kiba decided to shorten your name while you were in a coma. He's been calling you that for weeks."
"Haha... sorry man. I guess I'm just used to us being on those good terms that I'd worked up while you were kinda unresponsive."
"No... it's fine. I don't mind." Naruto smiled sincerely and Kiba smiled back before Naruto's face fell blank again. "But you still need to fill me in on all of our conversations that I didn't have."
Kiba smirked and laughed, "No problem man. Hell even Sasuke could tell you them word for word... I repeated them enough times."
Naruto smiled yet again but shook his head. "Yeah, but I want to hear them from you."
Kiba nodded, "Don't worry. We have plenty of time."
"You might not have that much time." Tsunade's voice interrupted them as she walked into the room. She had a knack for intruding at the worst times with bad news.
"What do you mean, Tsunade?" Sasuke asked in a dangerous tone.
"Don't give me that Uchiha. As though a child like you can threaten me." Tsunade brushed his scowl aside and made her way to the end of Naruto's bed.
"What do you mean." Sasuke repeated, looking her square in the eye.
Tsunade paid no mind to Sasuke and yet spoke up just the same. "Naruto, you're getting healthier. You're healing cleanly, there is no lasting damage from the coma, there's nothing that can keep you here for too much longer."
"You mean you're gonna kick him out?" Sasuke was appalled. He couldn't believe this women who he'd trusted Naruto's life to so willingly. Now she was going to hand him back over to his abusive aunt without trying anything.
"I'm not ready to discharge you yet," Tsunade continued to ignore Sasuke and speak only to her patient. "However, I won't be able to hold you in the hospital for longer than another week without suspicion."
"Why would you care?" Kiba stepped forward off the wall angrily. "You're the big shot around here. Can't you just say the word and it's final?"
"It doesn't work like that Inuzuka." Tsunade's eyes flashed a warning to the brunet, only it didn't work on the teenager who stared back passionately. "I have superiors that I have to report to as well."
"Can't you request something?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth. He didn't want to have made it this far just to lose Naruto to the abuse again.
"I already have." She spoke calmly and followed by shaking her head to ward off any questions of what the answer had been. Obviously it had been a no if she was telling them this now.
"I... don't want to go back there." Naruto's voice was low and unsteady. He refused to go back to his aunt's home, he would run away if he had to, anything to keep himself from going back.
"Naruto... she is your legal guardian. She has the right to keep you in her custody until-"
"She doesn't have the right to beat me!" Naruto exclaimed, startling everyone in the room. "She doesn't! I can't go back to that!"
Everyone stood silently as Naruto cried desperately. Sasuke had already moved to his side but Naruto refused to be held. There was nothing they could say that hadn't already been said. None of them wanted Naruto to go back there. None of them wanted her to continue to abuse him but there wasn't much they could do.
"Couldn't we... you know, bring this up in court somehow." Kiba was the first to break the silence, but his voice was weak.
"It wouldn't matter. If we brought this to the court it would be rejected immediately because of who Naruto's mother is and what people think of him." She paused before adding, "I've already tried."
Sasuke took note of that in his mind but didn't comment. He knew there was some reason he had trusted Tsunade and now she really proved it to him.
"What if we all go?" Sasuke asked, he had to believe that the more witnesses you had, the less likely they would be able to turn you down.
"If I'm not credible enough for them, what hope do you have for two high schoolers? Especially after your brother's little visit."
Silence enveloped them yet again, all except for Naruto's soft sobs.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kiba asked, "Naruto is our friend."
"He's only your friend when he's unconscious Inuzuka, and he's not a friend to neither Uchiha nor I."
"Yeah... he's more than a friend to me," Sasuke reached for Naruto's hand and was thankful when he was allowed to grasp it.
"So what is he to you?" Kiba locked eyes with the blonde doctor who only offered a blank expression.
"He is important to me by default."
Two of the teenagers looked at her with either confusion or raised eyebrows. It was an odd answer but for Tsunade, that kind of thing was relatively normal.
Naruto was the only one who really grasped what the woman meant. Tsunade had broke down in front of him and told him the truth about what his father was to her. Because of her, he knew more about his father in five minutes than he ever had his entire life. He was important to Tsunade, because of what his father was to her... she was his father's 'Auntie' which made her Naruto's "great auntie." Naruto would have laughed at this but now wasn't the time for laughter over something that one he and Tsunade would understand.
"I know what we can do..."
Everyone turned to Kiba, who seemed to have had a sudden epiphany. No one had to ask what it was, the expression on their faces were enough to get Kiba to speak.
"Hinata. Her father is a lawyer. She's my friend I'm sure she could convince him to take on this case-"
"Hyuuga, is that their last name?"
"Yeah... how did you know?" Kiba gazed at Tsunade, hoping her answer wouldn't be "easy to tell."
"I know them. The Hyuuga's aren't friendly to the Uzumaki name. Nor are they entirely friendly to their daughter who isn't fit for their family business."
"You know too much." Kiba growled, disappointed that his plan had failed, even though he knew more than most how Hinata's father treated her like an outsider.
Silence overwhelmed the group once again as they all tried their hardest to think of a way to keep Naruto safe. The blonde himself merely gripped his boyfriend's hand as he stared down, teary eyes covered by his unkempt hair. Sasuke also stared down, his eyes dark and deep in thought. His hand refused to move an inch from Naruto's or lessen up on his tight grip. Tsunade looked as normal as ever except her eyes were stricken with a range of emotions that were usually masked. Kiba was the only one who moved, he fidgetted with his hands as he bit his lower lip.
"Run away."
All eyes, even Naruto's, turned on the raven haired who's eyes remained cast down.
"We'll run away." Sasuke repeated, finally looking up, choosing to stare Tsunade in the eyes. It was like a challenge to her. He wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to be the one to stand in his way of this plan. She had already forbidden Naruto to return home and go to Sasuke's house instead. However, now that the circumstances concerning whether or not Emi would be looking for her nephew had changed, he didn't know if Tsunade would allow this.
Tsunade merely gazed back at Sasuke with serious eyes. She offered no words of rejection or looks of disapproval.
"Sasuke..." Naruto spoke, gripping his boyfriend's hand to urge the raven to look at him.
"Naruto, I won't let you go back there. I'll take you away. I told you that I'd always protect you."
The blonde's eyes teared up yet again as the two stared deeply into each other's eyes. Their connection and love was certainly growing by the day.
"You won't be able to hide him in your home for months. He'd have to get out sometime and what if people see him there?"
"We won't be here in Konoha, Tsunade. We'll leave."
"What?" Kiba snapped on them. Apparently he didn't like the idea of his best friend leaving town.
"It's the only way to keep him safe." Sasuke explained, now looking at his friend. "I have plenty of money from my trust fund and everything left to me by my family... I never planned on actually using that money but I'm going to do everything within my power to keep Naruto away from Emi."
Everyone's eyes were locked on Sasuke. No one was willing to go against this plan anymore. It was shocking, it was drastic, but no one could come up with something better for a situation like this.
"Where will you go?" Kiba's voice was laced with loneliness.
"Kiba..."
"No, I know I sound down but how else am I supposed to feel when my best friend is planning to just up and leave?" He sounded mildly angry as he looked into the dark eyes of his friend, "I'm not against this. I want Naruto to be safe too. As long as you keep contact with me, I won't have to hunt you down myself."
The corner of Sasuke's lip turned up into a smile as he and his best friend gazed at each other. The more they spent time together and the more he involved the Inuzuka in his life, the more Sasuke found that he could trust Kiba with his life.
"I know a place where you can go." Tsunade's voice nearly started Sasuke. He understood before that she wasn't going to dismiss their plan, but he was astonished that she was actually going to help out by providing a getaway route. "At least you can go there until you find somewhere to stay."
"How far away is it?" Sasuke asked.
"Far enough that she won't come looking." Tsunade assured them in a voice that left no room for question or doubt.
"I'll make some calls." She didn't even wait for a response before she moved to sweep out of the room but a very small voice caused her to pause.
"Tsunade..."
The blonde doctor paused with the door half open but didn't bother to turn her body or head to face her hospitalized patient.
"....thank you..."
The three boys watched as her head motioned a nod but said nothing as she left without a saying a word in response.
"Thank you guys... really..." Naruto was speaking through tears which flowed freely the moment Sasuke moved in to envelope him in a tight embrace.
Kiba also moved closer, standing near the edge of the hospital bed as he watched over his friends.
"Don't worry, we'll keep you safe." Sasuke whispered into his boyfriend's ear. "I love you too much to let you go again."
----
"So basically... over the three weeks that you were unconscious I got to understand you better, if that makes any sense. Eventually the more I talked to you, the more I thought about how I felt and what I actually thought of you in my own terms and not through the minds of the people who taught me to think wrongly of you. I trust you Naruto. If Sasuke trusts you, and if you're willing to risk your life for him, I'll trust you to be the person he tells me you are and the person I'm coming to know you as. You're my friend now, whether you like it or not, and I'm going to help you escape this forsaken village."
Naruto was speechless after Kiba's long, drawn out speech that started sometime after he finished crying into Sasuke's arms. Naruto had asked for Kiba to tell him everything that he'd told him when he was in a coma. It had taken quite a while and Sasuke looked bored enough to run errands for Tsunade and change people's bedpans at some points, but Naruto knew everything Kiba thought about him now. From the endless apologies for all the times that he'd picked on Naruto to how he felt about Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. Everything was now out and the open.
"I don't think I've ever heard you talk so seriously for such a long period of time, Inuzuka."
Tsunade's entrance shocked the three boys in the room. They hadn't even heard the doctor walk in this time.
"Tsunade!" Sasuke was up on his feet, facing the woman within seconds. "What did you find out?"
"Calm down Uchiha. Everything has been arranged."
"Where will we be going then?" Sasuke asked once again, very eager to hear these plans so he and Naruto could finally leave this village and Naruto's aunt behind.
"You'll be staying with an old friend of mine in the Land of Waves."
"You mean that small island nation on our country's east coast?" Kiba asked.
"Yes, I've arranged everything. You'll have to pay travel expenses to get to the east coast, as well as a boating fee to get to the Land of Waves because the bridge that is being built to connect to the mainland is still under construction."
"That's fine. I've already said I'll spend as much of my family's money as I have to in order to bring Naruto away from this town."
Tsunade nodded to the raven haired boy. "The man you'll be staying with is in charge of the bridge construction. His name is Tazuna, he won't be difficult to find."
"Thank you Tsunade. This will help a lot." Sasuke was completely grateful for Tsunade's connections and her willingness to help them. To be honest, Sasuke had no idea where they could go once they left and this offered him a great deal of comfort. The idea of dragging Naruto from place to place, never sure of where they were going to end up was not a very peaceful thought.
"You'll have five days to pack whatever belongings you'll need. I've hired someone who I trust to drive you to the coast. It will be a long trip since we're pretty much in the center of the country. You'll stop over night in Otafuku and then continue the long drive to the coast where you can board the ship but it shouldn't be more than a two day trip."
"Tsunade..." The woman's eyes moved from Sasuke to Kiba who still held a serious tone in his voice, "you're really turning out to be more than that old, obnoxious hag I made you out to be."
Kiba's smirk grew as a vein on Tsunade's forehead twitched madly and her eyes lit up with so much fury that even Sasuke took a step back from how close he'd been standing to the blonde doctor.
"You know Tsunade, that pulsing vein really doesn't do anything for your botox treatments."
This horrible, yet humorous comment, caused Naruto to giggle under his breath but he stopped instantly when Tsunade's angry eyes flashed towards him for a moment.
"I'm only joking with you Tsunade. You know we're grateful to you for helping our little Naru out. Not to mention how much I'm grateful to get a brake from this homo stuff whenever you and your giant boobs come into the picture." Kiba added with a laugh.
"You think you can talk to me that way brat!" Tsunade shouted loudly. "You damn well better show me some respect or I'll throw your ass out onto the pavement so fast you'll have permanent skid marks on your ass!"
Kiba only laughed at the furious woman who convincingly looked like she was about ready to kill someone, namely the brunet boy she was glaring down.
"Sorry Tsunade, you're too easy to work up. You look great and you're a really great person." Kiba offered this as his apology but that smirk he was trying to hide was still clear on his face.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously before turning to the other boys and calming herself down.
"Take your mutt home Uchiha. Visiting hours are long over. You can come back again tomorrow." Once again, the woman swept out of the room in her usual fashion without a word.
All three boys were left to stare stunned at the closed door when it swung shut. Silence resumed but within two seconds all three of them were laughing hysterically at the closed door.
"Kiba..." Naruto was the first to interrupt their laughing fit. "I'm glad you're around, you really lighten the mood no matter what.
Kiba smiled at the blonde, "It's what I do best. Make fun of people until they get so pissed off they either turn as red as a tomato or threaten my wellbeing."
Sasuke chuckled at this. It was very true and had happened to him several times since they've known each other. Of course, with Sasuke it was always the latter reaction, never any redness.
"Well... you two should probably go before Tsunade comes back." Naruto suggested in a voice of longing. It was obviously he didn't want Sasuke to leave by the way he was still grasping on to his hand.
"Yeah, she'll probably wring your neck Kiba." Sasuke smirked before leaning in to kiss Naruto shortly on the lips.
Naruto pressed into the sweet kiss, closing his eyes.
"I love you, Naruto," Sasuke whispered against the blonde's lips.
"I love you too, Sasuke," Naruto whispered back before they pressed their lips together once more.
Once they parted, they realized Kiba was already halfway out of the doorway. Naruto laughed and shook his head at their friend who was now actually a good friend to both of them.
"All right, we're done. Let's go Kiba." Sasuke ushered the brunet out of the doorway but not before Kiba said his goodbye to Naruto and then closed the door behind them.
----
"So Tsunade really hates being called old." Kiba laughed as he and Sasuke walked through the lobby of the hospital.
"No Kiba, I think what pissed her off was a combination of hag, botox and big breasts."
That got the both of them laughing yet again. Even though this was an extremely horrible situation, it was made all the lighter by Kiba's constant, inappropriate joking.
"Do you think she's going to calm down anytime soon?"
"Probably not, she might punch a hole through another wall."
"Yeah she does that a lot! She must owe this hospital so much for repairs. For a normally calm, emotionless woman she's pretty damn brutal." Kiba exclaimed.
"Though she's a good woman. We can trust her to take good care of Naruto."
"Definitely... I'm glad she's on our side. Though, I have been wondering why she cares so much for Naruto."
Sasuke paused to think about it. "I don't really know the real reason why... she only told me that it concerns the past."
"Oh well. No matter the reason, she's still a powerful ally for Naruto."
"Yes. She really is. I trust her with his life."
"Dude you kinda already had... you know, the times when he got shot."
Sasuke didn't bother to answer his best friend. Sometimes it was best to stop talking with Kiba and eventually he wouldn't be as annoying.
"So you want some help packing anything?"
"Why not. I won't need much but we can go through the house and find what's actually worth keeping."
Sasuke wasn't a very sentimental person, so he wasn't going to pack a truck full of belongings to take with him. He would probably just lock up the home and keep most things there in case they ever came back to Konoha. He doubted that they would ever actually return but they might need to come back to visit Kiba or if they ever wanted furniture for when they got their own place in the future. Things were starting to turn out better than Sasuke had ever expected.
They paused at the doors because Sasuke had turned around to look back.
"We'll be back tomorrow. Naruto will be fine until then, I doubt Tsunade will let Emi back in her hospital. Hell, even if the woman was bleeding out of her eyes, Tsunade would probably let her die in the road."
Kiba's assurance worked wonders. Sasuke knew that would be his response if he ever found Naruto's aunt on the brink of death. He would gladly let her die, as bad as that could sound.
"Yeah, let's go. We can see Naruto tomorrow."
As they left the hospital, two young girls, who were sitting in chairs half hidden by a plant at the far left of the hospital, stood up from their seats and watched after them.
"Naruto Uzumaki?" Sakura asked Ino with horror and disgust in her voice.
----
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter again. I hope you all enjoyed this one.