A/N: Yes, another chapter~ So sorry for announcing that it will end at the previous chapter (especially for those who read that years ago) and also I apologize for those who read this when I posted this as complete. I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I thought that I'd want to get it over, which is something I've never done. That's why I will officially finish it in the next chapter, which I really do have in mind, but haven't finished. Anyway, for those who haven't read this yet, enjoy~

Next Life

By: Kaida Matsuki

Chapter 9: Be There

Sasuke felt cold.

It wasn't because his clothes were soaked through with water when he got there nor was it because he was in an air conditioned room. The relentless rain outside adding to the cold didn't faze the freezing temperature inside.

Hinata's loud broken sob caught his attention as he watched Kiba comfort her. His eyes returned to the motionless person on the bed.

The sight was chilling.

Sasuke numbly walked to the hospital bed. His hands were shaking as he grasped Naruto's hand, whispering as if he was just asleep. "Naruto…"

The name seemed to jolt everyone present in the room back to reality as Kiba snarled in anger and grabbed Sasuke's collar. Kiba's anger grew when he realized that the Uchiha looked resigned and defeated. "You fucking prick! This is all your fault!"

"Kiba!" Hinata screamed, tears flowing freely as fear radiated in her eyes. "Stop it!"

"If it weren't for you, Naruto could've moved on! He would've loved Hinata! He would've forgotten all about you! He wouldn't be in pain! He wouldn't be in a fucking car accident! He wouldn't be in this GOD DAMN HOSPITAL!" Kiba's breathing became ragged, clutching the stoic Uchiha's shirt tightly, "Why didn't you just stay away?!"

"KIBA!"

Kiba felt Hinata's hands dig through his arms, desperately imploring. He looked away and instead saw Naruto's unconscious form on the bed, before returning his baleful glare at the quiet Uchiha. His blood spiked in defiance of Hinata's words, wanting nothing more than to strangle and beat the bastard that ruined everything. What did Naruto ever do to deserve this? His rage doubled and raised his fist, ready to connect it to Sasuke's face.

'Kiba!'

Kiba froze upon hearing Naruto's voice and snapped to see Naruto still unconscious. The scene looked almost similar to a distant memory where he could almost hear Naruto's broken sobs, Naruto's quivering hands that held his deceased father's hand. His warm tears that never reached his dead loved one…

Kiba dropped Sasuke and sat on the chair seated next to the bed, his hands covering his eyes. He could feel Hinata's comforting hands on him, but he didn't move. "You have no idea what it's like for us… You don't know how much this reminds me of Naruto's dad… that-that car accident."

"I know."

Kiba weakly scoffed at Sasuke's words. "No, you don't. What now? What are you going to do? Offer money? Make things better? Just like that?"

"Kiba, stop that." Hinata scolded and turned to the lifeless Uchiha. She may hold some anger for him, but that didn't mean he deserved to be subjugated to something he didn't do. "Uchiha-san's not the one who crashed into Naruto-kun. Please don't blame him."

Kiba raised his head, his tone reflected his disbelief. "Hinata, you shouldn't be defending him. Don't tell me you're on his side."

"I'm not on anyone's side… But still…" Hinata persisted, "You shouldn't blame it all on him. If anyone's at fault, it was the driver that hit Naruto-kun's car."

"And leave him scot free? Naruto wouldn't be in this mess if that bastard never left him in the beginning! No, he wouldn't be in this hospital if this bastard just left him alone!"

"It wasn't his fault!"

"No." Sasuke's tone was soft, but firm. They watched him gaze longingly at Naruto in silence as if forgetting that they were there. Until he whispered, "I did this."

Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but Kiba held her back as he said, "Now that you understand. Leave."

"I won't." Sasuke held Kiba's hard eyes with a glint of determination in his own. "I'm not leaving him. Not again."

Kiba snapped at his words. "Leave! You don't deserve to—"

"I know I don't!" Sasuke bellowed. His voice contained anger that hid his insecurity, his hands shook with suppressed frustration. "I know… But I still want to be here for him! I'll do anything for him! I know that's still not enough, but let me make it up to him!" Sasuke bowed low and whispered in a pained voice, "I love him… Please allow me to be by his side."

Kiba sat stunned at the Uchiha bowing, never had he seen Sasuke bow for anyone. Hell, he never saw him crack and leave himself vulnerable. The strained silence stretched until he heard Hinata's feet shuffle away from him. He glanced at Hinata and saw her move to the Uchiha, his heart clenching at her compassion when she prompted Sasuke to raise his head.

Hinata would never understand why Naruto chose Sasuke over her time and time again. She would never know why in any life time, no matter how she was always there for Naruto or came in his life before the Uchiha did, she was always second to him when it came to Naruto's love… but seeing the proud Uchiha bow and plead for their approval, she could see how much Naruto meant to him… He really did love him. Somehow she had an inkling of why Naruto had fallen in love with him again. And it hurt. She grasped Sasuke's hand. "Please… Please take care of him."

Kiba suddenly stood up while the chair clattered back from the force. He looked torn between rage and reluctance as he trembled to control himself. He was still against it, but Hinata…

"Naruto…" Sasuke's broken whisper caught everyone's attention as their eyes shifted to Naruto. Naruto was trying to sit upright. Sasuke ran to the blond, helping him sit up when he started to struggle. He grew concerned at Naruto's silence, asking, "What's wrong, Naruto? Do you need a nurse?"

Naruto looked dazed, his eyes appeared to be glassy as if they were merely open, but couldn't see them.

"Naruto…?"

No response.

"He has amnesia."

"What?" Sasuke hissed, not taking the news lightly, especially with the irony of being lied by Naruto of that same sickness, only to have the cruel Fates make it come true. He bit back the curse and slammed his eyes to stop the tears. "Continue…"

The doctor looked at all of them with grave eyes and said, "It's a case of amnesia, but somehow different. I can't guarantee it's the standard one."

"What do you mean different?" Sasuke snapped, unable to wait anymore when the doctor was wasting his time when he could've been with Naruto. "Explain. Quick."

The doctor sighed, taking off his glasses. "He's like a blank sheet. There's nothing… I can't confirm anything of his memories when he can't even speak. His eyes aren't focused, as if he's in a deep coma, but only he's awake. We couldn't confirm anything other than he had a concussion when he arrived. For one, if it is amnesia, he'd have asked, but as you have witnessed, he didn't. Though there are cases of amnesia similar to his, sometimes it's also caused by physical trauma, psychological trauma or emotional trauma. In other terms, it's the mind that's shutting his body down. A defense mechanism, in short. The mind is sending signals to the body to function, but not exactly to 'wake up' in order to defend itself rather to shut out any potential threat from creating more damage."

Sasuke leaned back on his seat, feeling as if the doctor's words pushed him back and forced him to stay there. He couldn't even look at how Hinata or Kiba was taking the news, or how devastating it was for Tsunade and Jiraiya who recently arrived, either way he couldn't care when he felt numbed. He stared at one of the hospital rooms, almost seeing his beautiful Naruto beyond it as his blue eyes gazed out the window, but this was distorted with how vacant the once lively blue eyes used to be.

Sasuke felt his throat painfully throb at the image. His tongue felt swollen as he forced himself to speak, "But he'll recover…"

His words sounded like a weak question instead of a statement, which broke the suffocating tension and was further plunged into a deeper sense of darkness when the doctor remained silent.

"It all depends on Uzumaki-san… I'm sorry." The doctor's face was grave and appeared to be really regretful. "It's your choice whether he is to stay in the hospital, because despite his body functions, his daily knowledge isn't present. When we constructed some basic tests, he couldn't react to any of it. We couldn't seem to feed him with solid food and he can't seem to drink the water without choking. We tried to make him react, but he couldn't even walk. He's like a baby… No, to be more precise, he's similar to a doll. It could take him years to recover. At this rate, his health would deteriorate. He's no better than a person in a coma."

That had been the last blow.

"What do you suggest?" Tsunade whispered when no one spoke of that question ringing in all their minds. "How can we…?"

"Find the cause of his grief and by then you'll know what to do." The doctor shifted from his standing and looked at his watch. "But the consequence of making him remember will be his memories returning and the first he'll remember would be the painful ones, since those are the predominant retentions in a human mind. Other forms of memories will follow after, it could be attained from places he visited, people and even in the form of dreams. Know that it's not constant and sometimes, the patient will never have the memories they once had. And in Uzumaki-san's case, his condition is worse since he can't even react correctly. I suggest there'd be one person supervising him every day, I'd recommend a hired nurse, but the cost wouldn't be convenient if his condition won't improve. It's still better for someone who knows him so he could freely roam and get his memories back."

"Doctor."

A nurse called out. The doctor then bowed to them and excused himself from the group, leaving them to their silence. Until it was broken.

"I'll take care of him."

Tsunade looked up at Sasuke's passive face, "You can't, Uchiha. You heard what the doctor said, his recovery could take yea—"

"I don't care."

"What about your student council responsibilities? Your position?"

"I'll resign."

"You can't always be with him." Tsunade pushed, trying to make the stubborn Uchiha see reason to his brash decision. "You have classes to attend."

"I'll attend it when Naruto can. I don't have any qualms about money anyway, which is why I'll pay for Naruto's hospital bill."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at that as she felt Jiraiya hold her arm as if in warning. She huffed, "What about your tests? Finals are almost up and you're all about to graduate. You still need to—"

"I won't attend."

"You can't throw it away by a mere whim!" Tsunade thundered, standing in front of the stoic Uchiha as she glared. "If this is about owing a debt to Naruto, forget it. Naruto wouldn't have wanted you to throw away your hard work just like that. Stop beating yourself up with some twisted guilt over the past! He wouldn't have wanted you to stay just because you felt guilt—"

"It's not guilt!"

Sasuke's outburst caused people to look at them as some even paused before returning to their business, but to those who were there for Naruto, knew that Sasuke Uchiha never loses his composure. He clenched his hands and muttered, "I'm not doing it out of guilt…"

Tsunade was snapped from her shock at Sasuke's voice.

"I just want to be there for him…" Sasuke whispered. "That's all I want."

"Sasuke…" Jiraiya started, but stopped when he saw the young Uchiha stand from his seat.

"Please don't stop me. I've made up my mind." Sasuke walked to Naruto's room and entered, hearing the door close behind him. For once, he was grateful that they finally dropped the issue and let him be alone with Naruto. He saw Naruto peacefully staring out the window where the rain started to stop. His footsteps turned quiet when he approached Naruto's bed and slowly sat on the chair near him. He gazed at Naruto as his blank blue eyes shift to look at him.

"…He's like a baby… No, to be more precise, he's similar to a doll…"

Sasuke's heart clenched at the doctor's words and swallowed, reaching with quivering hands for Naruto's bandaged ones and gently holding him. "Hey, Naruto, do… do you remember me?"

He was met with silence and he nearly choked in despair, before kissing Naruto's hands lightly and softly saying, "I-It's okay, I'll wait for you. But then again, you were never good with remembering stuff." He forced a small smile and continued, "Don't worry. I'll help you with that. I… I always did. I guess I'll tell you a story then… You did love stories when we were kids."

Sasuke laid Naruto's head down to the pillow and stroked a stray hair, starting his tale as he watched Naruto's eyes hold him. He didn't know where to start. Didn't know how he could summarize their twisted stories and fate. He scrunched up in concentration and decided to start at the real beginning, "There used to be two young lovers who both vowed to love one another in their next life, but you see, these two lovers have forgotten their previous lives memories. Though that didn't stop Naruto from falling in love again with Sasuke, Sasuke on the other hand was oblivious to his feelings so when Naruto wanted to confess to him…"

Sasuke cleared his throat, remembering that day. The day that made everything change. The day that made him regret for so many years.

The day that Naruto gave up on him.

"Sasuke ran away." Sasuke's voice cracked, confessing as guilt consumed him like acid that made his throat burn. "But later on, he noticed he loved him back, but it too late. Naruto had left. He tried to search for him, but he couldn't find him. That's why he vowed that once he'd found Naruto, he would tell him how much he loved him, no matter how long it would take him to find him."

Sasuke brushed Naruto's elongated hair aside, reminding himself to pack a pair of scissors to cut it as he continued his tale. "These two met again and became friends, but Naruto liked Sasuke more than that and decided to confess… He told Sasuke to meet him by their spot and–"

"Otouto."

Sasuke turned and saw Itachi by the door, he remained still as he waited for his elder brother to close it. He watched with guarded eyes as Itachi evaluated him and Naruto.

"You grew your hair," Itachi muttered as he took in Sasuke's hair. It was close to his jaw line now, meaning it would've been a few months to grow it that long. He frowned at that thought. How come he was only informed of this a week ago? He would've talked some sense into Sasuke from dropping out of school. He could've convinced him to at least finish taking his final exams. Now, Sasuke was only at home, taking care of his said mate. He sighed, "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Sasuke diverted his eyes and chose to ignore the deeper meaning of the question thrown at him. "I grew it out as a prayer for Naruto."

"You know I don't mean that."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and looked at Naruto's glazed look. He looked back at Itachi and hoped he'd understand his decision, whispering, "He needs me."

Itachi sighed. "No, you need him."

Sasuke didn't deny it as he gently ruffled Naruto's hair, watching the blank eyes stare at him. Somehow, he knew that having Naruto close was his own crutch to keep his sanity at bay. He understood their concern, but he needed to be with Naruto. He didn't care how long he had to wait for him to hold onto him, just as long as he recovered. Just as long he could see him smile again.

Itachi scowled at Sasuke's silence.

"I'm sorry, nii-san. It's my fault. I made him wait." Sasuke made a small wry smile. "Now it's my turn to wait for him."

Itachi looked away in anger, unable to handle seeing his younger brother's pain. Just as he was about to tell him not to push himself, Naruto suddenly started to gasp in panic. Sasuke jumped from his seat and pulled the hysterical blond as he started to cry and scream in agony.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sasuke asked as fear tinged his concerned tone. "Are you hurt?"

Itachi pressed the button for the nurse and just as he was about to drag one in the room, Tsunade opened the door. Her shocked demeanor turned into livid anger as she took in the scenario before her. She shoved past Itachi and grabbed Sasuke's form, ignoring the nurses that rushed to check the blond's health as they restrained his struggling. Sasuke watched as the doctor pulled out a needle and insert it into Naruto's IV, before the blond gradually settled down. He didn't get the chance to ask the doctor of Naruto's situation when Tsunade pulled him outside.

Tsunade threw him to the wall, glaring hard when the young Uchiha didn't even spare her a glance. "What did you do?" She yelled, uncaring that she was making a scene. Her glare intensified when Sasuke merely looked puzzled at the door where Naruto was beyond at. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him, snarling, "What. Did. You. Do."

"Let go of him, Tsunade." Itachi calmly said, prying off her hold on his stoic younger brother. "He didn't do anything."

Tsunade turned her baleful gaze at the older Uchiha, pushing Sasuke away before she could try wringing his neck. "Bullshit! Then why's he like that? That brat must've done something!"

Hearing Tsunade's biased words to his being, Sasuke suddenly remembered the doctor's words and unknowingly muttered his words, "… His memories are returning."

Sasuke quickly went back to the room and saw some nurses checking Naruto. He didn't expect much, but he couldn't help feeling a glimmer of hope that Naruto was starting to regain his memories. He wanted him to remember him. In truth, he had felt somewhat happy and relieved.

But he didn't expect this.

"…dad, please…don't leave me."

Naruto was recalling the death of his father.

Naruto continued to groan in pain, mumbling in his sedated state, "…someone…help…"

Sasuke felt guilty for having his hopes up. How could he not have consider that having Naruto's memories return would also entail that he would relive the pain all over again? He felt selfish.

"…suke."

Sasuke's attention shot to the bed as he watched Naruto slightly thrash on the bed as if he was having a horrible nightmare.

"Sasuke… help. Dad's bleeding… Sasuke… help me."

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him out of the room, preventing him from hearing any more of Naruto's slurred words. He knew that in that room filled with the nurses and the doctor's voices, he shouldn't have been able to hear it. It shouldn't have been so clear, because it was too soft, but he did hear it to the point that it was shrill.

It was deafening.

"He was calling for you when we brought him to the hospital." Tsunade muttered as Sasuke remained silent. "He kept asking us to find you so that you could help Minato. It didn't occur to him that Minato was already dead and that asking you to phone the ambulance was useless. I guess he just wanted you to be there for him, since he was scared."

Sasuke shut his eyes. He didn't know for how long, no longer noticing when Tsunade and Itachi left or even how he manage to return to Naruto's side. He just watched him sleep. The serene face didn't show the nightmares it must've faced during the years Sasuke was absent. He kissed Naruto's hand, whispering comforting words that it was going to be alright and things will get better – words that he wanted to be reassured with.

All of a sudden, he felt some light pressure on the hand he was grasping. He watched in numbing surprise as Naruto slowly wake up. He watched him struggle a smile as he heard his hoarse voice say, "I knew you'd come."

A/N: Before some new readers could comment on the quality, all I can say is it's an OLD fic (2011) which haven't been updated for 2 years (amazing~). Again, because of all your reviews that reaffirmed that it does need a proper closure (along with my friend's same opinion), I will finish the real epilogue. I apologize for those who were notified and read it as the ending. All I can assure is that it will be fully resolved in the last chapter. I hope you all look forward to it! Please Review and Comment! ^_^

In other news, check out my Tapas account:K Daughtry! I've uploaded my story, entitled "Siren" so check it out! The story was formerly Perfect Lover here, but it's now an original shoujo story. I've inserted some of my art designs of the characters there so I hope you guys read, like or subscribe to my story!