Chapter 11 – Another Screaming Chapter
"WHAT IN THE EVER BLAZING HELL WERE YOU THINKING!" Tsunade roared at Gaara.
She was in total Hell mode. Tsunade had to call an emergency meeting as it turned out someone at the hospital got their hands on the video footage that was recording in Sasuke's room when Gaara had attacked him. The same photo, taken from the footage, was all over the various magazines and newspaper articles, he was front page news. Luckily for Sasuke however, his face was blurred, apparently, the media are all for disgracing celebrities but not supposed 'victims,' not that it mattered to the band and their manager, for they knew who he was.
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING STUPID!? HE WAS IN HOSPITAL, HE DIDN'T THREATEN YOU, HE DIDN'T EVEN FIGHT BACK, REGARDLESS OF WHO HE IS, HE IS A PATIENT AT KONOHA HOSPITAL, YOU BEAT UP A SICK PERSON!"
The entire band was sat on Tsunade's couch except for Gaara who was standing in front of them.
"HE KISSED NARUTO!" he screamed back.
"I DON'T CARE! IT'S NOT LIKE THE TWO HAD SEX GAARA! YOU COMPLETELY OVERREACTED AND HAVE MADE A COMPLETE FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF, NOT TO MENTION YOU'VE RUINED YOUR REPUTATION." Tsunade shouted.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY REPUTATION." Gaara reiterated back, "THAT UCHIHA BASTARD TOOK ADVANTAGE OF NARUTO'S KINDNESS! HE IS NOTHING BUT A SICK SON OF BITCH AND HE DESERVED A LOT WORSE THAN WHAT I DID TO HIM!"
"YOU BEAT HIM TO A BLOODY PULP GAARA!" Kiba stood up, joining the argument, "LOOK AT THESE NEWSPAPERS GAARA, REGARDLESS OF THE BLURRED OUT FACE YOU CAN SEE HIS FACE LOOKS PURPLE AND THERE IS BLOOD ON HIS SHIRT, NOT TO MENTION THE SHOTS OF YOU KICKING HIS CHEST, YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!"
"AND YOU DON'T THINK HE DESERVES THAT!" Gaara bluntly yelled back
Kiba sighed lifted his hands in the air before returning to his seat.
"RADIO STATIONS ARE REFUSING TO PLAY ANY OF THE BANDS MUSIC BECAUSE OF THIS! YOU'RE RISKING THE ENTIRE BAND'S CAREER BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID JEALOUSY!" Tsunade continued.
Gaara stopped he looked back at his band; Kiba looked angry whereas Neji and Naruto just looked uncomfortable and disappointed in Gaara. He bowed his head and muttered to himself, "He deserved it."
Unfortunately for him, his manager heard him.
"AND THAT IS JUST ONE VERSION OF THE STORY!" Tsunade barked.
Naruto, sensing Gaara's frustration decided to intervene before Gaara said something he'd regret, "What do you mean Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade directed her gaze to Naruto, her face softened a bit, "The media is a bunch of heartless criminals, there is not an honest one amongst them, none of them will print Gaara's side of the story even if it is the truth. To them, an A-list celebrity beating up a mentally ill patient it worth way more than some revenge tactic."
"But that's not the truth," Neji said timidly, slightly afraid of the scene going on before him.
"The truth doesn't matter to them," she replied, "All that matters is the money and trust me, there get far more from a lie than the truth."
"But what about Deidara?" Naruto asked quietly, "Surely we can trust him?"
Tsunade stared in disbelief at the blonde, without breaking her gaze she picked up the remote and turned on the television and straight away Deidara's channel was on.
"Hello my gorgeous divas, let's get into it! Katsu!
Let's head straight to the drama, we have Sasori in Konoha right reporting on the latest Konoha Ninja's scandal. Sasori any word on the assault involving Gaara and the patient from Konoha hospital?"
The screen switched over to Sasori who was standing outside the hospital, "No Deidara, no word from Gaara, the Konoha Ninja's management or the hospital regarding the attack. But let's take a look at the photos again, just another reminder folks, these images are disturbing so if you have any young children please let them leave the room."
Images of Gaara attacking Sasuke started flashing on the screen.
"As you can see the image of the victim, who has still yet to be named, is blurred out but as you can clearly see there are shots of the Konoha Ninjas drummer punching and kicking the person. The images suggest that this was an unprovoked assault as there are currently no images of the said patient fighting back. From the photos, it looks like the person has received significant injuries to the face and torso. Only time will tell of who this person is and the true extent of his injuries," Sasori concluded.
"It is quite ironic that it is Gaara that is involved with this scandal isn't baby face?" Deidara asked.
"Yes, Dei it is. The drummer gained great attention in the band after they released an anti-bullying album which is said to be based on the redhead's life and childhood. Apparently, he was so badly bullied growing up that it had a profound effect on him," Sasori replied, "I think it's safe now that the bullied has become the bully."
"Yes, Sasori thank you," the screen flipped back to Deidara, "We will as always be keeping you updated as the events happen. Stay tuned as we try to get a comment from Sakura Haruno-Lee who you may remember sang a little duet with the blonde lead singer from the very same band. Does she have anything to say about the incident, or maybe, does she know who the individual was? Stay tuned to see if we find out."
Tsunade muted the TV, "And you really think you can trust him?" She dropped the remote control and sighed, she sat back down at her desk which was covered in the various magazine and newspaper articles featuring the story. She picked one up and waved it in front of the boys, "what are we going to do about this?"
Kiba spoke up, "Just pay them off Tsunade, you've done it before when I've been caught on a night out or when Naruto and Gaara were acting lovey dovey-"
"Yes but it's not that simple," she replied. She gestured towards the couch, "Sit down Gaara."
Gaara, still rather angry, sat down on the arm of the chair.
"What I mean is that it's not an easy situation. It's not something innocent such as going on a night out with some friends." She said gesturing to Kiba, "Or being caught having a make out session in front of the Hokage statue," She gestured to the two lovers, "If that was the case I could just sue the magazine companies for invading a person's privacy. Naruto, this event actually happened, Gaara attacked Sasuke Uchiha and they have evidence to prove it."
Tsunade put her head in her hands, "What's worse is that the staff member who stole the video from the hospital is threatening to release the video in full to the presses-"
"Unless we pay said person first," Neji interrupted.
"Even if we do that, how are we going to explain this," she gestured to the piles of papers on her desk, "We still need to answer that." She sighed again, "I suppose we could claim that the photos were doctored-"
"No don't," Gaara said sternly.
"Gaara?" Naruto asked.
"I am proud of what I did; I don't regret hitting him, why should I have to hide for defending my boyfriend's honour?" Gaara defended.
"Maybe it's because it was not your place. Who said it was your responsibility to 'defend my honour," Naruto muttered quite sickly.
"Exactly! Naruto is a big boy Gaara, he can certainly handle himself, he may have been hurt but I know that in this situation releasing the album would have been enough revenge. You did not have to defend him," She stated.
Gaara decided to keep quiet; he looked away from Tsunade and his bandmates, "I won't apologise," he whispered.
Tsunade shook her head in disappointment before she turned to Naruto, "Naruto we need this album now more than ever."
"Why granny? You've seen the articles, none of them know who Sasuke is or if any of this relates to me or the new album," he replied.
"Yet, they are trying to get a statement from Ms Haruno-Lee? You don't think of that as a connection? Look at it this way Naruto, it doesn't matter if it's the truth, all that matters to these pests is the story, whether it is real or fake. And I fear Naruto that they will distort this beyond recognition, then your truth won't even be considered as relevant. We need to release the album before they get that chance because you deserve to speak out."
Naruto sat in silence for a moment, taking in all the information that had been given to him, Should he release the album? He knew in his heart that it wasn't ready, it needed that final song. But he knew that Tsunade was right, if he didn't release the album now then he wouldn't have a voice and Gaara's entire reputation would be ruined when his intentions were supposedly good. He couldn't help but to debate with himself, what was better, his art, or his morals? He sat there for a few minutes before deciding to speak up.
"Tsunade-sama, how much is the hospital staff member asking for the video?" Naruto asked.
"Enough probably to quit their job as hospital staff and live the rest of their life in luxury," Kiba muttered.
"You are correct Inuzuka. They are asking for eight hundred thousand yen, providing we keep their identity a secret, I believe that is because if the hospital finds out who stole the tape, they will not only be prosecuted but also imprisoned."
Naruto looked right into the manager's eyes, "Pay them, get the tape and return it to Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke and him should decide what to do with that information, not us. Since Gaara is so insistent on keeping his pride, we will release a statement, we will acknowledge that such a tape exists but we will not comment on the details until the album is released. I will go and talk to Itachi and Sasuke-"
"Naruto no-" Gaara tried but failed to interrupt.
"I will go to the hospital, in secret, away from the cameras, and will talk to the Uchiha brothers. I will try to convince them not to press charges, even though quite frankly it's the least Gaara deserves," he said with a hint of venom clearly directed towards his boyfriend, "And I will try to persuade them not to release any information about Sasuke or the event in question until after the album is released."
"Naruto you can't possibly think-" Gaara tried again to interject.
"Naruto, do you think that you can convince them to keep quiet?" Lady Tsunade asked, also ignoring the redhead.
"Yeah, and what about the bubble-gum fairy?" Kiba inquired.
Gaara flung his hands in the air, extremely frustrated at what was happening.
"Sakura won't say anything so we don't have to worry about her but think of it this way Tsunade-sama, the Uchiha's have been betrayed, they have been raised their entire life to keep up pretences even when they have made a mistake themselves. They will want to contain the situation as much as we do, they will even avoid prosecution if it means avoiding a scandal. Up until now Sasuke has been doing well, for the most part, and I know how hard this album is for him, I am essentially dragging his name through the mud and this will do nothing but make it worse. But they understand all the pain that they have caused me and understand the necessity for this album, trust me Tsunade, they will listen to me." Naruto concluded.
Tsunade thought about this for a moment, it was risky, but Naruto's confidence was enough to convince her. She nodded her head, "Alright Naruto, I'll allow you to do this. Gaara I trust that you will also keep quiet to the press about this as well?"
Gaara looked towards Naruto who gave him a stern glare, he knew that regardless of his opinion, he had definitely fucked up to Naruto and he had to do his best to compromise, "Fine."
The meeting ended and the band headed out, Kiba and Neji walked ahead of Naruto and Gaara. Gaara lightly grabbed Naruto's arm indicating he wanted to distance themselves from the other two in order for them to talk privately, "Naruto, can we talk?"
Naruto stopped, a bit fed up he turned, "What is it Gaara?"
"Are we okay?" he asked.
"…" Naruto thought for a moment, "I'm mad at you but that doesn't mean I hate you." He shifted, "Tsunade was right, you didn't have to do anything."
"I thought I was defending your-"
"Do not say you were defending my honour again!" he hissed, "We both know that was bullshit. You were angry, you hated Sasuke for the way he treated us and the way he kept us apart when we were kids, you hate the fact that despite the way he treated me I loved him and married him. You can't stand that I was ever with him and I get that, Sasuke was a horrible person, he was possessive and ignorant and a cheating bastard. But that's the thing Gaara, was, and I know I am being hypocritical now but he has changed, he is a much better person now than he was when we were young. He has grown and learnt humiliation, and you, you need to learn to forgive. I have, and we both know he did a lot worse to me than you."
And with that Naruto started to walk away, leaving but he stopped again and looked at Gaara one final time, "Gaara you need to learn, because if you don't then you are just as bad as him."
Naruto left his boyfriend standing in the hallway somewhat stunned.