Me: New chappie! I so 'cited! I love writing this story, it just gets me all hyper and makes my fingers itch to write something.
Naruto: One thing at a time. You are juggling school, writing two new fics (*gasp* SPOILER!), and studying for finals, that are in, like a week.
Sasuke: No, let her overwork herself. That way she'll die a painful death.
Me: Pfffft! Keep dreamin', it's good for the soul. And without further ado-
*suddenly a random human Kyuubi appears*
Me: *gasp!* KYUU-CHAAAANN! Eeeeeehhh! *jumps into his arms and cuddles* heehee!
Naruto, Sasuke, & Kyuubi: O.o"
Kyuubi: Uhh… She just wanted to tell everyone that this chapter may get a bit confusing as Naruto will be very bi-polar. He'll still be recognized as Naruto, there'll just be a single emotion that's in control. She left some hints but she's nervous that's it's still a bit confusing.
Naruto: Okay. Kimpsee doesn't own Naruto or its characters, that belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. The plot belongs to vanillepiphany97.
Me: *still cuddling*
"Speaking"
"Kyuubi is speaking but is still in Naruto's head."
When Naruto was on his way back to Konoha, he just let his emotions take over his body. He was tired of feeling hurt and pained and just gave up. He was in his subconscious in the wonderful arms of Caring. Of course he wouldn't let his emotions run free, he asked the Kyuubi if he could guide and keep an eye on them. Of course the fox agreed, since they've been bonded together and all that.
Tranquility was in charge right now, and it was his job to get the blonde back to Konoha. He figured he would act as Naruto for the time being and so it was his responsibility to take care of Naruto. He decided that taking a nice relaxing shower, some Ichiraku's, and just some stress free time would do him some good.
As he entered familiar territory, the gates came into view and the blonde sped up his pace. His resolve for getting that shower was increasing each step he took. By the time he made it to his apartment, he was panting, seeing as he ran the rest of the way. As soon as he walked through the door, he started to strip, his clothes falling haphazardly throughout the halls.
When he entered the shower, he turned it on near boiling. It hurt slightly, but it also soothed away the tenseness he felt and the soreness in his muscles. He sighed contently and began to wash away the grime and dirt from his body.
After about fifteen minutes or so, Naruto dried himself and walked to the bedroom. He searched through the drawers, disregarding the fact that someone else's clothes were in there as well. Guessing he went through a 'dark clothing' phase, he grabbed his usual white t-shirt with the orange swirl in the middle and a pair of khaki cargo shorts.
When he was satisfied and no longer a burnt red, he walked out to get some ramen. Walking down the streets of his beloved village seemed different from usual; it felt like eyes were on him at every corner. It wasn't the familiar glare or sneer, but more like suspicious and curious. Did they know something he didn't? Or was it the other way around?
He decided that it wasn't going to bother his mood, and headed to Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Once he got there, it was the usual 'Naruto, my boy!' and 'Oji-san'1 and then small talk. He ordered the usual and sat as he waited. After a few minutes, he was slurping down the delicious noodles and broth, filling his hungry stomach. Finishing quickly, he paid and made his way to wander the village.
"Naruto!" Said blonde turned to the direction of the velvety voice.
"Crap, it's the brother. Listen, put Enthusiasm in charge. Naruto's usually bubbly to the brother."
"Itachi! What's up? It feels like it's been forever, man. How is Konan?" Naruto asked animatedly and grinned as Itachi caught up to him.
"She's fine, but what happened to you? We were all worried sick yesterday," he said, genuine concern hidden underneath that Uchiha pride.
Confusion took over. "What are you talking about? I just left the village overnight. I do that all the time. I don't understand what the problem is."
"But after what happened…" He didn't finish, not wanting to make the blonde blow.
"W-what…" Anxiety flowed through his body; no one wanted Naruto to remember, and Itachi just brought it up. "I-I don't know wh-what happened, but I'm sorry."
"It was pretty bad; I can understand why you wouldn't want to remember. But you need to talk to Sasuke, he's falling apart."
"You need to get away from him, fast. Agitation, shut him up quick."
"Who the fuck is Sasuke?" he asked, annoyed that the Uchiha kept prying.
The elder did a double take. First he was confused, then scared and apologizing, and now he's angry? What's with these mood swings? And he doesn't remember Sasuke? What happened when Naruto was out of the village?
"Uh, he's my brother… Your boyfriend…" Itachi explained slowly.
"Whatever," the blonde rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. I'm going to see Sakura-chan if you want to waste my time any more than you already have." He waved his hand dismissingly and walked away from the surprised Uchiha.
"Good. Now don't waste any more energy and have Boredom take over."
True to his word, Naruto was on the lookout for a certain pink mess of hair. He tried the park, the ramen shop (after ordering another bowl), the training grounds, and the Hokage building. Not finding her in any of those places, he decided to try the hospital.
When he arrived, he asked around and soon found out that Sakura wasn't in. She was on a mission to trade some medical supplies with the neighboring villages. Sighing, he walked back out to the street and wandered some more, bored out of his mind. His eyes glanced several times, not looking at anything in particular. His gaze led him to his other teammate, Sai, a little ways in the back of the forest.
"Hey Sai," the blonde greeted lazily.
A plastic grin and a "Hey Dickless," was the reply.
"What'cha doin'?" Naruto asked as he slid to the grass, relaxing on his back. The cerulean eyes stared at a sky just as blue.
"Painting the forest. It's just something to pass the time," the artist answered as he went back to doing just that.
"Hm," the blonde hummed. "Sounds boring."
"Indeed, but as I said, it's just something to pass the time."
Silence filled the area between the two, but it wasn't awkward. More like neither cared to say anything more and went about lazing around on the grass. It was a perfect day to do so too. The sun was out, but hidden behind the clouds, making the day bright without the sun's harmful rays. It was warm but not uncomfortably so, and there was a nice breeze blowing through, ruffling both ninja's hair.
Moments passed before Sai said something. "Can I draw you?" Always straightforward.
"Put Affection in charge. I know we can all agree that Sai is better for Naruto than that duck-ass."
And so the order was fulfilled. "Sure! I would love to be drawn by you," he answered and followed Sai's instructions on where and how to sit.
What no one knew was that Sai actually fell for Naruto with legitimate feelings. After his brother, the ANBU member has loved no one, but then Naruto showed up and he felt a different kind of love. At first he didn't know what to do, but he eventually accepted it and started subtly chasing after the blonde.
"You're beautiful Naruto," the artist suddenly said, catching Naruto off-guard. Said blonde blushed and smiled. "I love you, you know." He said it so nonchalantly that Naruto wasn't sure if he was joking or not. But when he caught those ink black eyes, he knew that Sai was dead-serious.
"I love you too Sai! It's always fun talking to you even though it might not seem like it."
The ANBU member beamed at the blonde, happy to know his feelings were returned. But unfortunately for the artist, this wasn't the Naruto he grew to adore. No, it was Affection, the emotion that was currently in control of the blonde's body.
"I've always loved you Sai. Ever since I met you, there's always been a special place in my heart for you." And Affection had a place in his heart for everyone, having no favorite. That was Love's job.
At that the artist moved towards the blonde, and stared into those endlessly blue eyes. Sai put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and felt his heart jump with joy, adoration, love, and bliss. Especially when the blonde didn't move back like he usually did when ANBU member touched him. The painting was long forgotten as Sai leaned in.2
Itachi was feeling very confused, curious, and concerned as to why Naruto was acting the way he was. He could understand why the blonde would want to forget what happened at the party yesterday, but he forgot Sasuke as well. That's what confused the elder. How could he forget something so recent and important so quickly, with someone who meant so much to him?
What made him curious was what happened when Naruto was out of the village. Itachi figured he would go cool his head and then come back to face Sasuke. He never ran away from a fight after all, so everyone guessed Naruto would be pissed as all hell, but he would still face his problems. Now all Itachi knew that the blonde was going through mood swings and it made him wonder.
He was concerned about Sasuke. His boyfriend may have forgotten him willingly and was acting as if nothing happened between the two. That would tear the raven to shreds. Itachi couldn't imagine Konan leaving him high and dry like that, and if she did, he knew he wouldn't be able to move on. This conversation could go one of two ways and neither was a happy ending.
As he was walking back towards the Uchiha district, he tried not to think about how this could affect not only his little brother, but the rest of his family as well. It would be bad if his parents decided to get involved. Hell, Itachi shouldn't be this involved at all, he and his parents have already fucked up enough and things would only get worse if Mikoto and (especially) Fugaku got into this mess.
Itachi scanned the grounds and found his brother in the private training grounds the two brothers would train and play in. The same place Sasuke sprained his ankle and Itachi had to carry him back home. The latter found his brother shortly after he entered and approached the youngest.
"Otouto, we have to talk." Itachi decided it was best to skip the pleasantries and get down to business.
"No 'Hey Sasuke, how are you feeling?'" He said bitterly. "I did just lose my boyfriend, because my family kept pressuring me into to getting married like a good little boy."
The elder flinched, but pressed on. "It's about Naruto actually. He's back but-" He didn't get to finish as Sasuke was already on pursuit of his blonde. Itachi just sighed and grabbed his brother's shoulder before he got too far.
"Listen when people are talking, Otouto," he scolded. The younger huffed and turned his attention toward Itachi, who let go. "As I was saying, he's back, but there's something wrong with him. He seems to be having random mood swings and may have forgotten about yesterday."
Shocked eyes stared dumbly back at Itachi. The raven couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But that's not all. Naruto has also forgotten about… you."
The silence that followed was deafening, and the tension could've been cut with a butter knife. Emotions were rampaging in Sasuke's mind and it showed through his eyes, making his brother tense. He couldn't decide if he was worried, angry, sad, or all of the above. His lover just decided to forget about him and he hated himself for it. If Sasuke just decided to tell his parents about Naruto then they would've been happy. Naruto wouldn't have forgotten and he would be in Sasuke's arms right now.
Only minutes passed, but it felt like hours with the emotional discord the raven was feeling. The elder was holding his breath, waiting for a break down, an outburst, anything. But nothing came and that was the most concerning. He could see his little brother breathing heavily and trying to calm down but so far, it didn't look like it was working. It looked more like he was hyperventilating. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Sasuke bolted to go find Naruto.
"Sasuke!"
Sai closed his eyes and leaned forward. Naruto just sat there happily, waiting for Sai to kiss him. All the emotions knew that the artist was better for Naruto than Sasuke, so this was okay for everyone. And so Naruto leaned in as well to meet Sai half way. They were just a hair's breath away and finally-
An explosion and screams filled the air. Sounds of wicked laughter and metal ripping skin and flesh reached every shinobi's ears and they sprang into action. The safety of the villagers was the top priority and the ninjas literally stopped doing anything and everything to fight against these bandits. Even Sai and Naruto forgot their previous affair in order to save their village from this random attack.
They flew across the rooftops, surveying the battle from there, already seeing fighting between the shinobi and bandits. The artist pulled out a scroll and quickly drew an eagle, and flew into the sky to get a better position. He planned to inform everyone of the battle as it progressed.
"Shit! Okay, Courage take over and make sure no one dies. Especially Naruto."
Naruto did as he said and continued running until he saw a woman trapped by three of the invaders. Jumping down, he sprinted towards them and used his momentum to slam into one of them, knocking him off balance and sending them sliding onto the ground. Before the others could realize what happened, the blonde swiftly punched the one on his right in the gut, and the one on his left, a kick to the head; both instant knock outs.
The first one got back to his feet, glared at the blonde, and pulled out a kunai. He charged at Naruto and swiped at his stomach. Naruto jumped back and grabbed the bandit's arm twisting it so he dropped the kunai and the blonde pulled his arm, using the force3 of the action, and sending a fist to the man's nose. It broke, spurting blood all over Naruto's hand and the bandit's face. The bandit collapse to the ground, before high-tailing out of there.
The blonde turned to the woman and offered a hand, and a smile. "Hey there," he said as she took his hand. "You might want to get out of here. Go to the shelters and wait for the commotion to die down." She stood shakily but nodded nonetheless and ran towards to closest shelter.
Naruto picked up the kunai and started battling whenever he saw one of the invaders. He was defeating each and every one of them with ease. This wasn't a very coordinated attack, considering they were all over the place. And the invaders weren't very skilled and it showed. They either ran away or crushed.
Plus, the explosion was caused by one of the traps set outside of the gates for this very reason. It was a beacon to every shinobi that there were enemies coming, granted it caught them by surprise, but they were winning regardless of that fact. The reason this was taking so long was that there were so many. Eventually, it was proven overwhelming for a single man.
This was shown when Naruto was surrounded by at least fifteen of them. There wasn't an opening for him to escape to the rooftops, and he couldn't use a smoke bomb since he didn't have any of his gear with him. The only thing he had was the bloodied kunai from earlier, so he had to be careful. Kyuubi switched Courage to Cunning as soon as he saw Naruto was in this situation. He needed to use his brain more right now anyway. So he just waited for one them to make a move.
Luckily he didn't have to wait long. One was trying to sneak up behind him, and he charged at Naruto. Seeing the attack, the blonde simply stepped to the side and allowed the bandit to fall to the ground. That seemed like enough distraction as two more split up, hoping to get him on either side, kunai knives at the ready. Naruto used his kunai to block one and used that momentum to redirect the he blocked, and sent the two crashing into each other.
Panting, he jumped back. Normally he would be able to take these guys on no problem, but he's been fighting for a while now. Where the hell are they all coming from? They just kept coming; if one fell, three more would take his place, or so it seemed. These were definitely humans and he couldn't sense that he was in a genjutsu.
He was distracted and didn't notice another one lunging, until his left arm was nicked, creating a gash and leaking the crimson liquid. Cursing, he gave a swift slash to the offender and he dropped down to the ground, dead. Now the blonde was wounded. Great. The others were slowly cornering him, and they all leapt at once, giving Naruto no place to escape.
At the same time they landed on him, kicking, punching, slashing, tearing. Ruthless and not stopping until the blonde was spitting up blood and could barely see two feet in front of him. None of them noticed a certain shinobi soundlessly dropping behind them, burning with rage and an itch for a kill. He found who he was looking for and these bastards were killing him? Oh hell no.
As fast as lightening he lashed out, mutilating whoever was in the way of his blonde. Soon his clothes and skin was soaked in the red gore. Bodies hit the ground and blood painted the unrecognizable corpses, as eyes reddened by anger flickered from enemy to enemy. Skin being ripped apart by a blade and a metallic smell filled the air, but he paid it no mind as he finished the last of them.
Once he was finished he stood over his blonde, who was unconscious and covered in lacerations. Sasuke looped his arms under Naruto's legs and around his shoulders, picking him bridal style. After making sure Naruto wouldn't be jostled too much, Sasuke took to the rooftops, going as fast as his legs allowed it.
The hospital was in utter chaos. Nurses ran around attending to villagers, ninja, children, and the elderly; anyone they could reach at the time. The more serious patients were tended to immediately and taken into the rooms, while those who still able move were in the waiting area. Tsunade was barking orders, trying to get some organization and seeing those were in more critical condition. The kind like Naruto.
"Tsunade!" Sasuke yelled at the Hokage. "You need to see Naruto! He's hurt."
"Everyone's hurt!" She turned to the raven and saw her gaki unconscious and bleeding everywhere. Her eyes flickered to the other patients, who were waiting, and quickly made decision. "Take him to room 26B. I'll be there in a minute."
Sasuke did as she asked, faintly hearing her call Shizune. He made a beeline for the room Tsunade said, and opened the door. After checking to see if it was occupied or not, he entered the room. Gently putting the blonde on the bed, the raven gave a glance over his blonde. From what he could see, it was bad. Real bad.
His clothes were torn and stained with dirt, and red splotches. The raven was pretty sure Naruto had some broken bones, and a lot more internal damage. He had a huge gash on his left arm that just wouldn't stop flowing, and hundreds of other lacerations covering his body. Plus, there was blood coming from somewhere on his head. That was never good.
Sasuke jumped when the door was violently slammed open, and the Godaime stepped in. She looked at the unconscious blonde and worry was seen in her eyes. But that changed when she turned her gaze to the shinobi next to her.
"Out," she said simply, but with authority.
Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but a glare that should've killed him where he stood changed his mind quickly. He gave one last look at his lover and regretfully walked out of the door, shutting it behind him. A bench was seen near the door and he took a seat, hoping everything was going to be okay. If only he knew…
Several hours passed and the commotion died down. Several reports came in, saying that this was indeed a random attack of bandits. Their forces were defeated and soon they retreated with their tails between their legs. Luckily for the Leaf, no one was killed in the battle, but many were severely injured and are awaiting treatment. Sakura was called back and all of the medical nins were present and healing as best and fast as they could.
But none if this mattered to the Uchiha, who hadn't moved an inch since he arrived. Many nurses have tried to come and check on his injuries, but he just shook them off. Eventually they stopped trying, getting the message that he wasn't going to let them examine him. He was too worried for his lover on the other side of the door. No word has been heard and as each hour passes, the more on edge Sasuke gets.
The sound of a sliding door had the raven on his feet in an instant, asking questions a mile a minute. This was not what Tsunade wanted to hear as soon as she stepped out of a difficult surgery. She merely held up her hand, trying to stop herself from killing the shinobi in front of her. That would be more work after all. He shut his mouth and waited for her to say something.
The Godaime sighed and looked Sasuke in the eye. "He's stable for now." That sentence alone was enough to make Sasuke's legs buckle and he collapsed back on the bench. "But…" His muscles tensed. "He has three broken ribs, a fractured leg, a major slash wound on his left arm, multiple lacerations and bruises, and he's… still unconscious due to a concussion."
The raven was already on the beginnings of a break down and that's the last thing Naruto needs from him right now. But even though he was distracted, he caught the hesitation in Tsunade's voice in that last sentence.
"There's something else," he croaked, his throat dry. "Tell me what's left, I can take it."
The Hokage looked at the pained expression and returned it with one of her own. She didn't want to have to tell him this since she wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but all the signs were there. Sighing, she yielded to her fatigued and slumped onto the bench, next to Sasuke.
"There's a really small chance, but at least it's a chance," she softy started but had no intention to finish.
"Tsunade, give it to me straight." He sounded almost… desperate to hear what she had to say.
"He's Naruto, he'll pull through. The Number-One Knuckle-Headed Ninja can't disappoint right?" A smile covered her lips, but it was cracked and full of sorrow. It was like she was trying to convince herself more than Sasuke.
However the raven was getting tired of her beating around to bush. "Tell me what's wrong with him."
"And he has the Kyuubi, so it shouldn't tak-"
"Tsunade! If you don't-"
"He's in a coma."
1 For those who don't know, Oji-san means uncle or old man.
2 I just couldn't help it! I had to put it there! It was just so tempting; you should've heard it beckoning to be written! But don't worry Sai lovers! I've got something in mind for him.
3 Naruto is a jedi O.O
Me: There we are! Please don't kill me for the cliffie, it wasn't my idea. I just work here.
Sasuke: You don't get paid. And you're too lazy, so it's not like they'd hire you anyway.
Me: You jerkfa- …Actually, I'm not gonna go there. It's the middle of the night and I'm tired as all hell. KYUU-CHAN!
*suddenly a random human Kyuubi appears*
Kyuubi: Yes?
Me: Carry me to bed! *holds arms out like a child*
Kyuubi: *sigh* The things I do… *does as told*
Naruto: And he's supposed to be some badass demon, and now he like a babysitter. I guess that's the power of an authoress.
Sasuke: Whatever. Kimpsee hopes you enjoyed and that the fights didn't suck.
Naruto: And that the mood swings weren't confusing. Review! It's was makes her get out of bed in the morning!
Until next time~!