A/N: First off, I'm so sorry about the long wait! (winces) I was struggling with pulling together this chapter, but now it's finally here. Yay?

BUT, before getting to the story… My GOSH – thank you so much for all those UNBELIEVABLE reviews! So many of you saw potential in the first chappy. (sniffs with movement, and glomps) You guys are amazing – thank you!

Awkay, because I've already made you wait too long, let's get going! (gulps) I REALLY hope this turns out worth all the wait.

CHAPTER 2: The First Encounters

Naruto's first impression on Tengoku was that it was nothing like he'd expected.

It was a huge, rather old building – which had most likely served as a hospital for as long as it'd stood – that held a hospital's typical stench in its air. But it was far too… homely to look like an institution. Several paintings, flowers, couches and other everyday things softened the building's atmosphere. A look towards the barred windows, however, quickly dropped him from all illusions.

"Unfortunately we had to bar the windows for security reasons", Tsunade explained without turning towards him, as though having read his mind. "We also have a strict policy against the inhabitants handling scissors or any other sharp objects. Medication is carefully monitored."

He nodded slowly. "'K."

"I'm sure you're already aware of our confidentiality policy. If anything ever bothers you, you're more than welcomed to talk to any of us staff-members, but you're not allowed to take any information on our inhabitants outside this building." Obviously sensing his nervousness, Tsunade gave him a slightly soft look before going on. "We're working hard to gain the trust of these teenagers, so we need to be worth it. I'm sure you understand."

He nodded again, feeling embarrassingly lot like a puppy that was eager to please. Damn it, if only his muscles hadn't been so stiff…! "Yeah, I do."

There was a pause when they turned two corners. "The group I've decided to let you work with now consists of six teenagers. It's very small, and very intensive, so it's highly important that you tell me if it gets overwhelming. I'm keeping your job-description as light as possible. You have no education and as I understood this is your first time working in a place like this; I don't want this all to become too much for you. During these first days I'm only expecting you to learn, attend, observe and get to know these patients." They stood behind a rather large door when Tsunade turned towards him all of a sudden. There was a look he couldn't read in her eyes. "Naruto, you should know that we don't usually take any summerworkers here – partially because short-term staff puts a place like this into a chaos, and partially because this is a very demanding place to work in. But I wanted to make an exception with you." She smiled faintly, barely noticeably. "I'm sure you'll do just fine, and we're all here to help you. So don't worry."

Finally managing to relax, he couldn't resist smiling as well. It was easy to melt under such trust. "Thanks." Just then he noticed a couple of candles, along with a single flower, placed behind a nearby smaller door. Chills ran down his spine. "What… are those for?"

Something close to sadness appeared to Tsunade's eyes. "A patient named Kimimaro… left us a couple of days ago." She paused for a long moment. "Apparently someone gave him a knife – we still don't know who."

Cold shivers, along with immense sadness, washed over him as he stared at the signs of mourning. "Why?" was all he managed.

It took quite a while before Tsunade managed to speak. "Because sometimes… Sometimes, no amount of treatment and caring is enough – the scars and damages go too deep. In time you need to learn how to keep your distance for the sake of your sanity. It's the hardest and most bitter lesson you need to accept in this job."

He swallowed thickly, unsure as to what to say. "It's not fair."

"I know." Tsunade shrugged. "But if it offers you any consolation… When it stops feeling unfair, you're not fit for this job anymore." The woman then glanced towards her watch and cussed under her breath. "I just remembered that there's something I have to take care of." She gave him a meaningful glance. "I'll be back in a minute. Wait here, so I can take you to see the inhabitants, alright? Don't go wandering around."

He nodded, still a little bit dazed.

About ten seconds after Tsunade had left he suddenly heard something that caught all his attention and made him blink twice.

Someone… was playing a piano.

Where the heck had he heard that melody before?

He knew it would've been the wisest idea to obey Tsunade, but he couldn't control himself – it was as though his legs hadn't been his anymore. And so he started to walk towards the sound, his head spinning as fast as his heart thumped.

He soon found himself from the doorway of what looked like a common space – and couldn't help blinking at what he found.

Before a clearly old piano sat Sasuke with his back towards him, playing as though nothing else but the music existed at the moment. The raven's fingers danced on the instrument, not needing a single moment to know what where they were supposed to go. He'd never seen anyone look so peaceful and content – it was like the boy hadn't been the same who'd looked at him from that tiny room when he'd first arrived.

He knew he was probably making a huge mistake, but couldn't hold himself back under the flame-like temptation. He took a cautious step forward and inhaled a deep breath before speaking. "That was beautiful." Then, deciding that something else needed to be added, he went on. "Who taught you to play?" In all honesty he wasn't expecting the raven to respond, but couldn't resist the tingle of hope anyway.

So fast that it startled him Sasuke turned towards him, eyes filled with nearly animalistic gleam at first. Then, very slowly, the boy's muscles relaxed and the raven turned away again. The boy's fingers ghosted above the piano's keys, as though the instrument had lost its voice just like the teen.

Not waiting for or expecting an invitation, he walked closer and slid slowly to the seat next to Sasuke, hoping from the bottom of his heart that the wasn't making a disastrous mistake. Sasuke kept observing him carefully, tensing up once more, but the boy didn't make a move against him. Both were equally silent while they tried to get used to each other's presence.

After a couple of minutes he just couldn't take the silence any longer. "I… guess you don't like talking too much, but… it'd be cool to hear your voice, okay? Because… it feels kind of stupid talking to myself."

Sasuke glanced towards him with annoyance and amusement, then – out of the blue, most likely surprising them both – emitted something that sounded like a scoff before focusing on the piano once more. The boy's lips seemed to move for a fleeting moment, but no voice came.

His heart raced as he all but stared at the boy.

Sasuke… had just come close to saying something, hadn't he? Or was he just imagining things? Did this mean that there was still hope?

Then Sasuke started to play again, choosing that same melody which sounded torturously familiar. Though hard as he tried, the strings of memories just wouldn't connect.

Where had he hard that song before?!

He just opened his mouth to ask when Tsunade's voice made him jump high. "I should've known you're here." There was irritation on her face, but also something else he couldn't name. "There's a session starting soon, and I'd like to see you there." She cast a meaningful glance towards Sasuke, who wouldn't look her way. "Both of you." With that she turned around and started to walk away. "Naruto, there's a pile of files waiting for you in my office. Take a look at them and come to the lounge we passed by."

After she'd left, he took a rather deep breath. "Well, I guess…" It was then he discovered that Sasuke had already disappeared – as though the Uchiha had been nothing but his imagination. He emitted a groan of annoyance. So much for fast progress… "Damn it."

Always having been a curious nature, Naruto was excited to get on the files Tsunade had left for him. Apparently they included information on the teenagers who'd attend to the meeting soon to start. Taking a deep breath, he opened the first file, wondering what he'd come across.

Subaku, Gaara

Violence, asocial behavior, several arrests, even more doctors having given up, numerous times of being locked up to institutions…

The file was thick with sombre reports from numerous foster homes, the police and doctors.

Feeling somewhat choked up, he moved on to the next file, fearing of what it'd reveal.

Raijen, Juugo

Obvious schizophrenia, aggressive behavior, extremely withdrawn personality, numerous assaults, history of abuse…

As he went through the papers, several pictures of a tall, skinny and angry boy's beaten up face fell to the table before him.

He shivered a little while putting the file away. Jumping to the next one didn't feel all that appealing.

Deijouji, Haku

Severe depression, self mutilation, several suicide attempts…

A trauma of some sort had pulled the kind, gentle and highly intelligent teen to dark waters.

He didn't know what to think anymore. These teens… They were so sick. Was he really the right person to help them, when…?

He then shook his head, his eyes flashing. He'd never been a quitter. Why should he start now, when he was trying to reach out for his dream?

He blinked twice when spotting a familiar name on top of the next file.

So she really is a patient, huh?

Haruno, Sakura

Bipolar disorder, history with eating disorders, severe emotional difficulties…

It appeared she'd gone through quite a bit in the past – her road having taken her from losing her parents five minutes after her birthday party to a foster home where her 'father' had taken advantage of her. But at the moment medication and therapy appeared to be working. Her papers told that she actually had hope.

And then Naruto spotted the file he'd been secretly waiting for.

Uchiha, Sasuke

His hands were slightly sweaty as he grabbed the papers and started to go through them – only to notice that there was barely any information on the Uchiha's past. No record of parents or siblings, of any family whatsoever. Not even any indication to who'd identified the child in the first place when he'd been found crying and bloodied, half of his face brutally burned, from the side of a highway. Back then Sasuke had been ten. Since then there was a lot of information from doctors and officials.

Sasuke had been shipped from a jail and closed ward to another – he'd been tested, poked, threatened and pushed into the corner for countless of times. It was as though the boy was a dangerous wild animal no one knew how to handle – at least ten doctors had signed in a 'lost cause' –label to the teen. For the past seven months Sasuke had been in this place. So far the results didn't seem all that encouraging despite obvious attempts.

Aphasia, depression, eating disorders, violent behavior, unstable personality, suicidal behavior…

Sasuke hadn't spoken a word to anyone since being admitted – no one knew if the boy had ever spoken. He also wouldn't let anyone – including doctors and other inhabitants – touch him, so it was impossible to tell what all had been done to him. To all attempts of approaching the teen responded with animalistic violence, otherwise he stayed on his own, sealed into a world no one had access to. The Uchiha had isolated himself from the world even more affectively than he'd been isolated for most of his life.

Naruto felt absolutely empty and breathless as he stared at the papers, slowly absorbed the heartbreaking information.

How could they ever fix this?

How would he ever manage to help Sasuke, when the boy obviously didn't want anyone anywhere near him?

Then, very slowly, his eyes lit up with determination.

He didn't care if everyone else had given up, because he never would. Even with the risk of losing his sanity he'd help Sasuke, because he needed to believe that there was still hope.

That boy with fire in his eyes he'd just seen was no lost cause.

Just then he noticed that there was one more file left. His eyes widened when he saw a much too familiar surname on cardboard.

Hyuuga, Hinata

Hyuuga. Just like Neji.

Neji, who'd claimed that he was the soul member of his generation in the whole family. No siblings, no cousins.

He frowned and shivered, feeling cold all over.

Since when had he and Neji been keeping secrets – why hide something like this? Hadn't he made it clear that he'd accept the Hyuuga, come what may? Where had Hinata been all her life when she'd never been seen anywhere around Konoha?

He prepared himself for opening up the file, but never had the time. Because just then the door opened, and Tsunade peered in. "I know you'd need more time to get to know them, but it's time to get started. They're getting restless."

He nodded stiffly and got up, for once in his life not finding a single word. His head was an inch from hurting under the weight of all the thoughts bouncing around.

They'd made it to a huge door until Tsunade turned towards him and spoke. "I'll have to warn you. This place is very tender to all sorts of changes, so you may not get a very warm welcome. But don't let it get you down – they're real sweethearts once you get to know them."

He managed to pull on a tiny grin. "Nah, don't worry. I'm ready."

Tsunade smiled faintly. "Well, you sure have gutts." She then pushed the door open. "Welcome to the jungle."

As he stepped into the room, he immediately discovered that Tsunade hadn't been exaggerating. While painting four other teens watched with a mixture of feelings as three members of staff worked hard to control whom he assumed to be Juugo and Gaara. The boys had ended up to a huge argument over blue paint. Now there was paint everywhere, and both boys were bruised.

"I hate art-therapy sometimes", he just heard Tsunade mutter under her breath before she raised her voice. "Everyone, listen up! This is Naruto – he'll be working with us as from today. Be nice to him so he can get used to us, alright?"

Sakura was the first one to actually look towards him. She grinned brightly when seeing and recognizing him. "Hey! So you were bold enough to actually appear."

He couldn't help grinning as well.

Gaara also gave an immediate response to his presence. The boy – who turned out to be a redhead underneath a thick layer of paint – looked towards him with evaluating eyes, then scoffed loudly and muttered something obviously insulting under his breath before looking away again.

Tsunade shot a glare towards the boy. "Gaara, mind your manners."

The redhead acted as though he hadn't heard.

He was slightly surprised when facing Haku. The boy – who was giving him a smile that obviously hid away a lot – could've easily fooled him that he was a girl. "Welcome to Tengoku."

He grinned, relieved by the warm welcome. "Thanks."

It took a while before he noticed Hinata, and when he did he was chilled by how much like Neji's her eyes were. Fighting to overcome surprise, he managed to grin a bit when she looked towards him from behind her painting. She blushed to an incredible extend and swayed slightly while looking away in a flash.

Juugo, on the other hand, was much easier to recognize in his tall glory. The boy greeted him with a nod and a "Hi" that might've as well been his imagination. He couldn't help blinking twice. Was that calm person really the same who'd just fought Gaara and been introduced in papers?

As from then things went on what he assumed normally, although especially Gaara and Juugo kept sending suspicious, almost angry glances his way and Hinata couldn't even look at him without blushing. Quite slowly and noisily several more or less graphic paintings were born under his and the other employees' observation. The dark themes – of death, blood and sadness – chilled him for a moment, but quite soon the first shock faded and he was able to read the stories behind them. He even found himself thinking some of the artworks were beautiful.

It was almost chilling how comfortable he felt around these badly troubled teens.

He didn't know how long the hassle had gone on until something unexpected happened. "Well afternoon, Sasuke." With the mention of Sasuke's name, a very young nurse immediately gained his full attention – as well as the attention of pretty much everyone else in the room. His heart leapt a bit when he glanced towards the room's door, and found the Uchiha there, observing them with cautious eyes that were filled with warning.

Tsunade shot a half-glare at the nurse, then offered a paintbrush to the boy. "Do you want to paint?"

For a couple of moments Sasuke stared first at the offering, then looked at him directly to eyes. He was sure his heart skipped a beat and he forgot to breathe while they examined each other, as though trying to find something. Then the boy noticed everyone watching and retreated back into his shell once more. With a small, unidentifiable sound and a strange look the boy left.

Gaara gruffed, Hinata and Juugo seemed slightly disappointed and Haku looked towards the door for a couple of moments with somewhat sad eyes. Sakura, on the other hand, groaned. "Damn it, it was so close."

Tsunade cast a warning look towards the girl. "Watch your tongue."

Naruto couldn't have agreed with the pinkette more. He looked downwards, the bitter taste of disappointment filling his mouth.

Why didn't Sasuke want to be with them – with…?

"Naruto." To his surprise Tsunade was smiling. "This was the first time Sasuke actually showed up at all. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was huge progress."

The grin came without being invited. "Are you serious?"

Tsunade nodded, then glanced towards the room's door before looking back at him. "I've gotta go now, okay? Show up at seven tomorrow – we'll carry on from there."

At first he blinked – so he wasn't fired?! – then the grin from before widened tenfold. "I won't be late, believe it."

With a tiny smile Tsunade left the room, on her way telling the three members of staff to escort the inhabitants to a lunch-room.

After a couple of moments Naruto's gaze strayed to the door through which Sasuke had disappeared. For once there was a warm feeling inside him.

So, apparently things might be turning towards the right direction, after all.

Sakura's voice appeared so suddenly that he jumped and emitted a very embarrassing yelp. "You know…" She gave him a look of deep amusement. "If you really care about him that much, then what the heck are you doing gawking here?"

He focused on gathering together the equiptment they'd been using, feeling embarrassed although he didn't know why. "I… don't care all that much, not really."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. But get going already, will you? Because it's painful to watch you twitching like that."

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess…" He then waved briefly before starting to walk away. "See you tomorrow!"

-

Watching Naruto go, Sakura scoffed a little and shook her head. "And he's supposed to be here as a member of staff…"

Tsunade smiled faintly when entering a tiny room, and seeing a familiar person sitting behind a table. "Hey. I guess you came to talk about Naruto."

Iruka nodded, looking towards her with apparent concern. "How's his first day been?"

She sat down, deep in thought. "It… hasn't been easy – he still takes everything so very personally, takes everything to his heart. And his past isn't helping matters. But…" It was hard not to smile again. "I think he'll do just fine – he'll help those teens just as much as they'll help him. I think you made the right decision when letting me take him in."

Iruka's shoulders relaxed in an instant, and brown eyes became filled with such relief she'd never seen before. "That's good."

When the man broke into a fit of wrenching coughs she frowned, something squirming uncomfortably in her stomach. "How was the first one?"

Iruka seemed to come close to wincing. "Just as bad as expected."

She nodded, feeling a twinge inside when watching how the brunet fought to gather himself. "Just… call me, if you need help with looking after Naruto or anything else, okay?"

Iruka nodded, sending a look of gratitude her way. "Thanks." With that the man pushed himself up with appearent difficulty. "I've gotta go to school – the students have most likely already caused a havoc."

She nodded this time, although he couldn't see it, and watched with sad eyes as he approached the room's door. "Take care of yourself."

Iruka responded with a small wave, not turning towards her. And so the man had left.

Silence had never felt as heavy as it did when wrapping around her then.

It didn't take Naruto as long as he'd thought to find Sasuke. The Uchiha was in his tiny, rather dark room, leaning against the wall with somewhat glazed eyes, legs brought against his chest and arms wrapped around them. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he could've sworn he saw the boy shiver. What was going through the raven's head, was impossible to tell.

Licking his lips, not sure how to proceed, he took one extremely cautious step forth. He felt like retreating when Sasuke tensed up completely and gave him a look that carried wild threat – which was most likely covering up panic. He'd have to be careful, now.

He tried to grin, and managed to make it surprisingly believable. "Hey, it's okay – I'm not gonna hurt you or anything. I just…" He shrugged. "I just wanted to come and see how you're doing. I mean… You didn't join the others."
He snorted and felt like breaking into a thin smile when Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away with seemingly disinterested eyes. "I'm not that boring, am I?" Then, realizing that ice had been broken, he dared to go and sit next to the Uchiha. "You don't mind if I sit with you for a bit, do you?"

Quite unsurprisingly Sasuke barely reacted, only gave a barely detectable sideways glance his way, as though to make sure his intentions weren't anything sinister.

It wasn't until then he remembered something. He grinned sheepishly while scratching his hair. "I… guess I never remembered to introduce myself, did I?" He would've offered his hand, had he not known it pointless. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. I started working here today." Seeing a strange flash in Sasuke's eyes and spotting new tension, he frowned. "What's wrong?"

Then, to both their surprise, Sasuke melted into a tiny, wry smirk. The boy took a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote something to it, then handed the paper to him. His blood froze with surprise when he read to words.

'You're still loud and annoying.'

Still…?

It wasn't possible that he'd met Sasuke before – he should've been able to remember something like that. Right?

He looked at Sasuke with demanding eyes. "What does this mean?" he asked in a tense tone.

Sasuke looked directly to his eyes – and he'd never found as much disappointment as he did then. It felt like something had been broken, almost. Then, as though nothing had happened, the Uchiha looked away quickly and returned to his former position, sinking completely into himself and hiding the scarred side of his face from him.

The connection was broken.

Feeling desperate Naruto opened his mouth, but never got the chance to say anyhing. For then there was a faint knock on the door, and a rather young woman with black eyes and hair peered in – Shizune, her nametag said. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Sasuke needs to get his medication now", she explained.

He nodded, feeling numb and anxious at the same time. "'K." Hard as he tried, he couldn't catch Sasuke's gaze anymore – it was as though he'd been shut out of the raven's world, at least for now. "I'll… see you tomorrow, okay?"

Receiving no response he got up, almost startled by how stiff his legs were. His feet had never been as heavy as they were while he dragged himself towards the room's door.

Quite faintly Shizune's soft, soothing voice floated to his ears. "This isn't going to hurt, alright? Just hold still."

Naruto frowned with confusion while emerging from the room.

He'd done nothing wrong, right? So why was he feeling like going back to apologize?

-

Had Naruto looked over his shoulder once more, he might've seen how Sasuke glanced towards him and kept looking at the closed door while a needle punctured the Uchiha's pale skin. The boy then looked away once more, his eyes turning almost glazed and defeated as the drug wiped him numb.

Naruto had never felt as exhausted as he did when leaving work that day. His head was spinning literally as questions and emotions spun around in a huge mess.

He blinked with surprise when showing up to the parking-lot and finding Iruka waiting for him. "Hey. I thought you were supposed be late at school today."

Iruka shrugged, smiling faintly. "I had to come and see how you're doing after the first day. How did it go?"

He glanced towards the building, deep in thought. "It… was much harder than I thought. But…" Without being called a flash of Sasuke's face floated to his mind. "It was also interesting. I think I'll be okay."

Iruka gave a look that said the man understood. The brunet ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, it'll get easier." The man then nodded towards his rather old, worn blue car. "Do you want a ride?"

He grinned widely. "Don't even ask!" He winced. "I could fall asleep standing up."

Iruka responded with a smile. With that they started the walk towards the car. In some other state of mind he might've noticed how atypically quiet they were while going.

As soon as they got into the car and Iruka drove off the building's parking-lot, he shivered a little when his cell-phone bleeped, announcing that a new text-message had arrived. He wasn't sure what to feel when discovering that it was from Neji.

'I'm sorry, but I can't come today, after all. There's some schoolwork I need to do.

'Love you.'

Feeling sinfully relieved, he put away his cell-phone.

He wouldn't have probably been up to talking to Neji, anyway. He needed to think.

His attention shifted once more when Iruka started to cough violently all of a sudden, almost badly enough to make the man gasp for breath. He frowned, intense worry making his blood run cold. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Iruka tried to give him a reassuring smile while fighting to catch his breath, but it didn't convince him at all, especially with how badly his foster father's hands shook and how pale the man was suddenly. "It's… It's okay, just a little cough. Nothing to worry about."

He shivered a little. Since when had Iruka lied to him? "Are you sure?"

"Of course." A faraway look appeared to the brunet's eyes. "Try to get some sleep if you're tired, okay? I'll wake you up when we're home." As he kept watching the man sunk deep into his thoughts, squeezing the steering wheel so hard that knuckles turned white.

Still frowning, Naruto folded his arms and focused on staring at the road.

What the hell was going on? Why was everyone around him keeping secrets all of a sudden?

TBC?

A/N: So… How was the second chappy – any good at all? Do ya guys still feel like reading some more?

PLEASE, let me know – you've gotta know by know by now how much hearing your thoughts means to me! (gives HUGE puppy's eyes)

What WOULD BE in the next one: Naruto tries to make sense to all the lies around him while Sasuke struggless to try and trust. Iruka gets a visitor.

GAH – I've really gotta get going now!

Until next time, folks, I hope – be it with this story or some other!

Peace out!