Naruto blinked his eyes open. One eye felt extremely stiff and he found it rather hard to open it all the way. He raised his hand and let out a hiss when he touched it, feeling it swollen and half shut. His good eye looked around and he noticed white walls and the smell of hand sanitiser. Hospital. How did he end up here? Naruto tried to push himself up to a sit but groaned and clasped to his side. Shit that hurt. Everything came flooding back to him with the pain and it took a moment for him to realise the seriousness of it all. Nagato had beaten him. Someone shifted next to him and he felt around until he found the bed controls and slowly raised himself to a sit. He smiled, wincing when it pull the cut on his lip. Sasuke was fast asleep on the seat next to him, the raven head of hair settled in his arms on the end of the bed. Naruto reached out and brushed the man's bangs aside. It was odd seeing the duckbum hair so dishevelled. Sasuke must have been here awhile.
"Naruto?" a familiar, teary voice asked from the door way. The injured, fox like man looked over to where Sakura was standing, tears welling up in her eyes. "What happened?"
"Oh, this?" Naruto indicated to himself "It's nothing, you should see the other guy" he tried to laugh but ended up groaning in pain.
"Don't overdo it dobe" he heard Sasuke yawn "You've got a couple of fractured ribs, since they are used for breathing its best you try not to laugh" Well, that was impossible. The only way Naruto could see himself getting through this situation was by laughing. "Your arm's broken too"
"Wow, didn't expect it to be this bad" Naruto grumbled. When it had happened sure it hurt like a bitch but a broken arm? He wasn't expecting that.
"Adrenaline does that" Sakura weakly smiled. She still hadn't entered the room and Naruto waved her in.
"Seriously, now you're shy?" he chuckled only to be rewarded by the same pain as before.
"What did I tell you dobe? No laughing" Sasuke's voice was cold, almost like he was telling off a small child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Come on, lighten up" Sasuke did not look impressed with him in the slightest.
"Sasuke's right Naruto, you could damage yourself further" Sakura sat down on the other side of the bed and assessed him. "I can't believe he did this to you"
"Ah, yeah…he didn't take to kindly to me being with Sasuke" The Uchiha sat up, his eyes wide.
"He did this because of me?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, angry at how Sasuke immediately looked stricken with guilt, he would not let his boyfriend take on that blame.
"No, this is no one's fault but his" Naruto spat. "You're what got me through it"
"Don't be a sap" Sasuke replied, his voice soft and calming. Naruto gave him a small smile and grabbed Sasuke's hand.
"I mean it, knowing you would be there when I got off the plane was what kept me going" Sasuke picked up his hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.
"Um, I'm not sure if you two are aware of this but Nagato is releasing a statement today" Really? Couldn't that man just wait for a few weeks before doing damage control? Jesus, it's not like Naruto could exactly stick up for himself while he was in here.
"Gaara's on it already" Sasuke snapped. Naruto raised his eyebrow, careful to not irritate his bruised eyed.
"What do you two have planned?" Sakura looked nervous and Naruto grew concerned. He didn't like being left out of decisions and something big seemed to be going on.
"Do you trust us Naruto?" She asked.
"You know I do" he replied, slightly shocked she would even ask that.
"Then you need to let Gaara handle this. This is his area, he's done this a million times and well…your way hasn't exactly worked" Naruto hung his head, ashamed he had put those he loved through this. So many times he had seen battered victims, felt the anger and hopelessness when they came in battered and bruised and here he was, in the exact same position as those he fought to help.
"Okay" Sakura was right. He had tried to do things his way and all it caused him was a trip to the hospital and a media shit storm.
"Naruto, we want you to press charges" Sasuke was blunt with his words "I can't…no…we can't see you like this again"
"I know Sasuke" his boyfriend looked relieved "Did you really think I could let him get away with doing this to me?"
"I don't know…" he looked ashamed and Naruto sighed. "You're to kind sometimes Naruto"
"I have my limits Sasuke and ending up in hospital is one of them" They fell into silence "I guess I should explain what happened?"
"Yeah, that'll be good" Sakura replied.
Naruto took in a deep breath, wondering where he should start. Sasuke would probably tell him off for being such a hero now that he thought about it "We'll he was being a real dick at breakfast which isn't anything unusual. Konan made pancakes, seriously those are some fantastic pancakes, you really need to try them Sasuke"
"Naruto…" he warned. The blonde man sighed, his nerves getting the better of him.
"Well, Konan started to stick up for me so I left because Nagato was being pretty nasty. I…waited by the door, worried ya know. Konan's pregnant and I didn't want Nagato to upset her cause babies get stressed if the mothers get's stressed…well. Konan told Nagato I was better off without him and I heard a cup smash so I ran in" Naruto looked to Sasuke who was listening intently "He was going to hurt her, I knew he would so I stopped him. Told him to come upstairs so we could talk…I figured better me then her"
"What the hell Naruto, you know better than that! You should have called the damn police!" Sakura whacked him in the head gently and Sasuke shot her a glare.
"I know but there wasn't enough time and as I said Konan's pregnant. Well we went upstairs and he just lost it. Told me I couldn't leave him and then when I went to leave he shoved me, no threw me to the floor. He shoved this photo in my face, of Sasuke leaving our apartment and then he started screaming at me. Asking me if I was…fucking Sasuke. He hit me then started kicking me. I refused to tell him anything and then Yahiko knocked on the door and convinced him to go and then well, you know the rest, I rung Sasuke and here I am" He forced a small smile. "There you go kids, story time's over"
"Naruto, this isn't a joke" Sasuke grumbled out. His boyfriends hands were clasped tight onto the bed and his shoulders were shaking.
"I know that, I just…don't know how else to deal with this" Naruto looked down at his hands "It was terrifying Sasuke, being beaten like that. If Yahiko hadn't come I don't know what would have happened but…better me then Konan"
"Naruto, you have to promise me you'll press charges" Sasuke looked up at him desperately. Naruto grimaced, how could Naruto not promise his boyfriend that.
"Sasuke, I promise" Sakura cleared her throat and the two men looked over to her.
"I sort of…called them already. Iruka should be here once he's freed up" Iruka? Their high school teacher?
"But…isn't he?" Sakura smiled brightly.
"Not anymore, he's just been made detective to" Naruto wanted to jump up and down. Iruka had been a mentor to him all through high school, when others had given up on him the kind teacher had pushed him to keep going.
"Way to go Iruka, oh fuck" Naruto had yelled a bit too loudly and his ribs pulled painfully.
"Do you need more painkillers?" Sasuke ask, jumping up quickly. Naruto waved and shook his head "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll be right in a moment" Naruto put his head back onto his pillow and took small shallow breaths.
"Nagato should be on now…" Sakura said, her tone unsure "Do you…want me to turn it on?"
"Yeah, I want to see what that asshole has to say" Sasuke sneered. Naruto nodded in agreement.
Sakura turned the small box on the wall on and flicked to the right channel. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand again, squeezing it tightly. This would be hard. A news reporter came onto the screen to introduce it and the camera switched to a podium. Orochimaru stood at it, Nagato was standing next to him, his face completely blank.
"We are here today to address the rumours that my client Nagato Gakure has been involved in a physical altercation with his husband Naruto Uzumaki. These rumours, while have some ground are merely an act of passion. My client has recently been under various stressors due to his campaign and it had come to his attention that Mr Uzumaki had entered into an affair with one Sasuke Uchiha. My client then…respectably of course…confronted Mr Uzumaki and a scuffle occurred. My client is deeply apologetic for his actions and in no way takes responsibility due to the events leading up to this occurrence. As his representative I believe that he was unaware of his actions due to finding out about this affair and responded in a manner that any, self-respecting man would. From this point onwards we will be answering no more question in relation to this incident and we wish Mr Uzumaki a speedy recovery"
The screen faded to black and the reported came on, blabbing about new evidence of Naruto's 'affair'. Sakura looked to Naruto warily, waiting for him to respond. The blonde man sighed and then a smile grew on his face. A booming laugh left his lips and he found himself in hysterics. He didn't care that it hurt, he just couldn't believe how ridiculous it had sounded. Did Nagato really think that he could spin that? "Naruto?"
"I'm fine" he chocked out, trying to calm himself down. "If anyone believes that bullshit their idiots"
"Gaara's up next" the three of them turned back to the screen. Gaara looked slightly irritated but he remained calm.
"As you have been made aware my client, Naruto Uzumaki, was assaulted by his ex-husband two days ago" Sasuke chuckled when Gaara emphasised the ex part "My client and Mr Gakure have been separated for some time and out of respect for his ex-husband's political career he decided to continue his support publicly at the request of Mr Gakure. I hold the divorce documents in my hand and these will be available to the media by request. These papers were filled on February second. You will find that the cause of separation was spousal abuse. This incident was not reported to the police but I have personally provided the police with evidence at the time of the assault. My client has yet to press charges but with the support of his friends and current partner Mr Uchiha, whom I might add his involvement with my client only started after the papers were filled, will go forward with this action. As this is now a police matter any information about this incident will now be withheld from the public. Good day"
"Holy shit" Naru gapped. Gaara was a badass, he had no idea his friend had even began to process the divorce. For once in his life Naruto was glad his friend was slightly underhanded. "Sneaky little"
"You didn't know?" Sakura laughed. "I thought he had told you!"
"That he had put the divorce papers through? Hell no, I thought we weren't doing that after! And the spousal abuse part, remind me not to piss Gaara off ever" One thing Naruto was confused about was the evidence he spoke of.
"He took a photo when you weren't looking and took it to the police, they couldn't do anything with it until you came forward but they have it on file along with the photos they took when you came in. Gaara's also handed over the medical report, all their waiting for is your statement" Naruto nodded rather numbly, suddenly this all felt way too much for him. "Do you need some sleep?"
"Yeah, that would be good. You should go home and get some sleep to Sasuke" The pale man had dark bag's under his eyes and he was gaining a bit of stubble on his smooth face. Naruto wondered what he would look like with a beard and chuckled, maybe one day he could convince him to grow it out.
"Are you sure? I don't really want to leave you alone" Naruto nodded. Sasuke was exhausted, he didn't need to be a doctor to tell that.
"Go, I'll be fine, Iruka will be here soon and I would rather do this myself" He really didn't but there were some thing's he didn't feel comfortable discussing in front of Sasuke.
"No, you're not talking to the police without me dobe" Naruto looked to Sakura for help, he wasn't in the mood to argue as he was certain raised voices would probably induce a flash back. Damn, he was a prime candidate for post-traumatic stress syndrome right now.
"Sasuke, Naruto knows Iruka. He won't push him into talking about anything he isn't comfortable with" she was gentle with her persuasion "Iruka is like a father to Naruto, he will look after him"
"I'm not happy about it but if you say you'll be alright I'll believe you" Sasuke stood up and Naruto felt a protectiveness come over him.
"Have you eaten at all teme!" Sasuke shrugged "Go home, have some food and have a damn shower. If you come back here tonight I'll get out of this bed and kick your ass back home"
"I'd like to see you try dobe" Naruto lowered his bed down, glaring at Sasuke as he did it and ignoring the pain it caused him. He would not let Sasuke's health suffer, it was bad enough Naruto was in hospital, he didn't need Sasuke in here to. "See you tomorrow then?"
"I'll be here" Sakura stood up as well and gave him a small cuddle.
"I'll come visit you after my shift tonight, maybe I'll sneak you in some ramen"
…
Iruka Umino was a kind man. Not many people saw him angry so when he stormed into his office, face as red as a tomato and cursing under his breath people tended to stay out of his way. He couldn't believe it when Sakura had rung him. Naruto, his Naruto. The kid he had made sure got through high school and made something of himself was in hospital and that damn husband of his had put him there. Iruka couldn't believe it at first. Not Naruto, anyone but Naruto. He had gone through more than enough in his life. Iruka grabbed his coat and his keys, he knew he was too close to this but he didn't care. He wasn't going to risk any cop on Nagato's payroll screw this up.
Iruka had known for a while something fishy was going on. Too many times cases had gone missing. He started to notice it revolved around the area the shelter was. Elderly people came in complaining of vandalism only to be shrugged off with a 'we'll check it out'. Kids we're being intimidated and then out of nowhere the cases disappeared and the people had moved out of the area. It had niggled at him for a while but after what happened with Naruto, Iruka was certain Nagato had something to do with it. He didn't have any proof but his gut was telling him the boy was in the middle of something big.
Iruka ignored Mizuki who was yelling at him, asking him to come with. Out of every cop on the force Mizuki was the one he trusted the least. Something about the man was just…off. Iruka hopped into his car and turned the siren on, speeding off towards the hospital. When he pulled up he inwardly groaned. This place was a damn circus. Media vans we're blocking emergency entrances, reporters hung around outside. He would have to deal with it later, they we're encroaching on people's privacy as well as potentially stopping people from getting help.
Iruka made his way to the ward Sakura had given him and went straight to Naruto's room. His ex-student looked worse for wear and Iruka resisted hugging him. He need to be professional or he would be taken off the case. Iruka pulled a file out from under his arm and sat down on the empty chair next to the bed.
"Long time no see" Naruto joked. Iruka gave him a small smile. Naruto was trying, he could see that but it was pretty obvious the man was barely keeping himself together.
"You've seen better days haven't you" Naruto lifted his hand and switched the TV off, turning his full attention to him. "Now I'm just letting you know I'm here in a professional manner, I cannot do or say anything that may suggest coercion so I need you to keep on track and keep this strictly business"
"Got it" Iruka pulled out his work phone and found the voice recorder, putting it on the side table.
"Interview with Naruto Uzumaki commencing on the fifth of July. Detective in charge is one Iruka Umino and time is four fifteen pm" Iruka pulled out a photo from the file in his hand "Is this you Naruto?"
"Yes" the man replied, looking over the photo he had been shown, a sad look on his face.
"Can you please explain to me what happened on the day you acquired this injury" Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to recall what happened.
"It was the night of a fundraiser. Nagato and I got into an argument and I decided to leave early. I had forgotten my wallet at home so I tried to call him. Nagato wouldn't answer so I ended up walking home" Iruka pursed his lips "I think I got home sometime after one. Nagato was still up and we started talking. I can't remember what we we're talking about but I got upset and told him that a parent figure of ours would be ashamed of him"
"This person was Nagato Gakure?" Iruka questioned, wanting to clarify who they we're talking about.
"Yes, my husband at the time" Iruka nodded and Naruto continued "Nagato hit me"
"Open hand or closed fist?" Naruto's hand flicked to the photo again.
"Closed fist" Iruka nodded again and put the photo away.
"What happened after that?" It was pretty straight forward and so far Naruto seemed to not have any issue answering the questions
"I ran upstairs and slept in the spare room, when I woke up in the morning Nagato wasn't home" Naruto grabbed a glass of water and took a sip
"Is there anyone that can collaborate your story?" god Iruka really hoped so.
"Gaara Sabaku, I saw him the next day and he took that photo" Iruka hoped that didn't work in Nagato's favour. Gaara being Naruto's lawyer could stop him from being a credible witness and he wouldn't be able to be called to the stand.
"Besides this event were there any other instance's that Nagato Gakure placed his hands on you" Iruka was begging in his mind for Naruto to say no.
"I don't know if it counts but he's grabbed me roughly a few times. Once when I gave him the divorce papers and another time in a limo" For fuck sakes, Iruka was starting to get angry. The detective took a deep breath before beginning again.
"Now, before we go over the recent incident I would like to offer you a chance to stop and take a break" Naruto shook his head "I need you to say that into the phone Naruto"
"I don't want to take a break" Iruka pulled out some pre prepared questions.
"Where were you on the day of the assault" Naruto looked uncomfortable.
"Will they be questioned?" Iruka nodded "I don't want to upset Konan any more then I have"
"Is she a witness to the assault?" Naruto nodded "Sorry Naruto you really need to voice your answers"
"Yes, Konan and Yahiko we're present in the house" Iruka was confused by how hesitant Naruto was being. "Konan's pregnant, I'm worried about the stress"
"Ah, I see. We will make sure that we take great care when interviewing her and her partner. The trial, if there is one will not commence until the investigation is done and that may take a while if you're worried about that" Naruto looked visibly relieved. "Can you tell me how this started?"
"I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. Konan was making pancakes and I may have…not eaten in the nicest way" Iruka held back a laugh, he knew exactly how messy Naruto could be "Nagato made a comment about me eating like a pig and Konan stuck up for me. Nagato got defensive and he continued to belittle me"
"Do you remember what he said?" Naruto rubbed his thumbs together.
"Just called me a pig again, said if I was going to eat like one then he would call me one" Iruka remembered many occasion's Naruto becoming self-conscious about how he ate. The boy didn't realise he did it, he was just so use to scoffing food back due to him appreciating good food after living off instant ramen. "After that I left the room and waited by the door in the hallway"
"Why did you do that?" Iruka found that odd, if he was going to leave the room why would he wait around.
"It didn't feel right, leaving Nagato in the room with Konan. I was worried about her" Ah, that made sense.
"Did you feel he would harm Konan" Naruto took in a shaky breath and went to nod but then quickly remembered he had to talk.
"Yes, Nagato seemed…off that morning, nastier then usual" Iruka nodded again, encouraging Naruto to keep going again "They were talking about me, Konan wasn't happy about how Nagato talked to me and then she said that I was better off without him. I heard a cup smash and I ran in. Nagato was shaking, I could tell he was angry so I stepped in, took the attention off Konan"
"That was brave of you" Naruto laughed.
"Stupid you mean" Iruka had always admired Naruto for his sense of right and wrong. He would always put himself in danger if it meant helping someone else "I convinced Nagato to go upstairs, I told him we would talk. I wanted to get him away from Konan"
"Is that where the assault took place" Naruto began to shake and Iruka offered for them to take a beak but Naruto declined.
"Nagato said that I couldn't leave him, I said that I wouldn't, I was just trying to say whatever I could to keep him calm so I could leave the room. He then yelled at me, said that I was because I asked for a divorce. He then called me a dumb slut and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket" Naruto took another sip of his water "I tried to leave the room but he grabbed me and threw me away from the door. My elbow took the brunt of the fall"
"And that's when your arm was broken?" Iruka somehow managed to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Yes. After he opened it I saw that it was a photo of Sasuke Uchiha, my boyfriend, leaving my apartment that I own with Sakura Haruno. He asked me if I was fucking him, excuse my language. I said no and he punched me in the face" Naruto raised a hand to his eye and winced.
"Why did you say no?" Naruto shifted slightly.
"I had agreed that I wouldn't date while he was campaigning but Sasuke and I decided to give it a go anyway, away from the public eye. I was afraid if I said yes it would get worse" Iruka knew Naruto wasn't telling him something but he didn't want to push it. If Naruto didn't think it was relevant then it wasn't worth exploring.
"And your relationship with Sasuke Uchiha, that started after you filed for divorce?" Naruto blushed.
"Yes, we had grown close after he had visited the shelter once. It was a good month or so after" Iruka felt sad, people would judge Naruto for moving on so quickly.
"That was rather fast" Naruto gave him a questioning look, a bit thrown by the question.
"Nagato and I had been growing apart for a while, when he first hit me I was already done with the marriage. If you think about it that way it was if we had been living separate lives for years" Iruka decided to get back on track. The only reason he asked was so that Naruto wouldn't be thrown under a bus in court.
"So, after he punched you what happened?" Naruto's hand went to his ribs and Iruka wanted to give him a hug.
"He kept asking about Sasuke, things like how long I had been seeing him and telling me to end it. I kept telling him I wasn't seeing Sasuke. Nagato kicked me three times in the ribs and then Yahiko tried to open the door. He convinced Nagato to leave with him. I dragged myself to my room and packed my bag. It hurt so much, I'm not sure how I managed it. I called Sasuke while I was packing. He set up my flight back for me and the ambulance I think, it could have been Itachi, you'll have to ask them" Iruka quietly stood up and went to the window, staring out at it as he tried to calm himself. Naruto didn't say a word knowing that he couldn't be a friend right now.
"Has Nagato Gakure tried to contact you within the past seventy two hours" he eventually sat down, feeling a lot more at ease now that the main part was over.
"No. My lawyer, Gaara put through a protection order" Iruka picked up his phone.
"Interview with Naruto Uzumaki ended five forty five pm" he turned the phone off and put it back in his pocket. He wanted to hug Naruto, he really did but he couldn't risk it.
"It's okay, I understand. I'm okay Iruka, if I'm honest it feels good, getting this all out. I've been so scared and I should have done this the first time. You know me though, stubborn till the end"
"That not funny Naruto" Iruka picked up all of his things. "Stuff it, come here" he engulfed Naruto in a hug, being careful of his injuries "I'm going to nail this bastard Naruto, I won't let him get away with this.
"I know Iruka" The older man stood up and placed a blank face one. He had a mayoral candidate to question.