Author's Note; Heeeeey everyone! Here's another update :) I hope everyone's liking this so far!

Sasuke; You have to be a sadist ...

Me; No I'm not, it's the plot that's a sadist! -gives her brother innocent eyes-

Naruto; You're making me regret living! D:

Me; It gets better, I swear!

Sasuke; You're not my sister you sadist! ... Damn it, you are just like Itachi!

Me; Hence forth, I'm your sister! -winks- And Ita-otouto learned a lot of the torturous ways he's used on you from me. Remember that!

Itachi; She's right otouto. -Smirking-

Sasuke; You've got to be kidding me!

Chapter 8

Sasuke

I could tell something was wrong with Naruto, he didn't have to say anything, it was the fact of how he kept reacting when the mention of his nurse came up when Itachi and I came back to his room. Calling him an ass, meant that Naruto didn't like him one bit. Naruto isn't someone to call another person an ass unless he knew they deserved that title. And when the dobe asked me to stay the night with him, that made me wonder what the nurse did to make Naruto hate him so much. Sure, I knew Naruto hated hospitals, but he's stayed here over night alone before. Something was up, and I was going to find out before I went to sleep tonight.

"Sasuke, can you help me onto the bed?" Naruto's hoarse voice asked after the two of us sat in the room about an hour after Itachi left on his date.

"Maybe we should have a nurse help." I suggested, and Naruto visibly tensed so much that his knuckles on his clenched fists were turning white.

"No, we can do without the nurse." He said as he put the chair in lock and started getting up before I had time to put my homework away to the side to help him.

"Wait a moment." I said quickly and got to my feet before Naruto could force himself up any more and grabbed him gently under his left arm and helped him up further onto his feet.

"I can walk a few steps to get the chair out of the way." He huffed. I could tell just doing this was taking more effort than he wanted, but not to aggravate the blonde, I let him move on his own the few steps and moved the chair out of his way before he walked back to the bed and climbed in on his own. I could tell that this was going to be a long ass night.

"So, would you like to get some homework done?" I asked him, noticing that there was a book and a notebook in the chair his Dad was sitting.

"I do need to read, but I'm too tired for that right now." He told me, and I could understand the pain he was in.

"Want me to get Matatabi to give you some pain medicine?" I asked.

"As long as it's Matatabi, then I'll accept it." He said, and I could tell he was serious. "But she should be here soon, she said she would."

"If she doesn't show up in an hour, I'm going to go get her okay?" I suggested, and surprised he nodded in agreement.

"Sasuke …" Naruto mumbled as I sat down, and when I looked at him, I was surprised I was able to hear him because he had most of his face in his pillow.

"Hm?"

"Make sure he doesn't come in." Naruto said before he closed his obsidian eyes and drifted off to sleep. I didn't notice, until then, how empty his eyes were.

I waited a moment before I sighed heavily and returned to my homework. "Sure, dobe, I'll make sure he doesn't come in." I said quietly, giving Naruto one more glance before I got busy again.

In all honesty, I was glad that Naruto fell asleep, mostly because I didn't want to hear him complain about the pain, but it was because he looked like he was in less pain when he was asleep than when he was awake. It was like his body automatically shut down and relaxed when he lost consciousness.

Besides, seeing the blonde in no pain was better than seeing him in pain. He was happier too, but I know that it's been a long ass time since anyone's seen him showing his real happiness.

"I'm Naruto's nurse, Yaguro Ishimo, I'm here to see if the gauze on his back needs to be changed." A male's voice said from the door way, and I immediately knew that somehow, he wasn't as good as Tsunade said he was, it was the vibe the man put off when he walked in here. My skin is even crawling.

"Naruto's asleep, come back in later." I said, trying to sound calm and focused, getting a quick glance of the guy before looking back down at my Chemistry homework.

"I'll come back in half an hour, if he's still asleep, he'll have to be woken up so we can change the gauze. If he's still bleeding, he'll need to get his stitches replaced, we also have to make sure he doesn't get an infection." The man said. I know the urgency of getting the dobe's bandages changed and the wound on his back looked at, but he just had the stuff changed a few hours ago. I know personally that they don't need changed that often.

"I'll hold you to your word, half an hour." I said coldly, and he left without another word.

I waited a few more minutes before I knew that the male nurse was gone helping another patient before I looked at Naruto again. To my shock, his eyes were open and there was some actual emotion in his eyes, and I could tell very much that it was fear and anxiety.

"What's wrong dobe?" I asked, wondering if the pain woke him up.

"Matatabi is the only one allowed to touch me!" He hissed, anger now seeping into his eyes as I just stared at him, wondering if I should listen to him or not. "If she isn't here, then Tsunade-baa-chan changes the bandages."

"Why are you so against your nurse helping you?" I asked, hoping he'd tell me.

"I can't tell you, but please, trust me." Was all he said before he turned his head and picked up his book. I guess he doesn't trust me quite enough to not let the nurse in while he's sleeping.

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because … I'll tell you when I go home tomorrow." He mumbled in the beginning, then whispered so low I almost didn't catch what he was saying. But somehow, my gut told me not to acknowledge that he said anything and made a barely visible nod. I don't know what's going up between these two, but I know I'm going to find out about it later.

And as soon as I was going to ask Naruto if he wanted anything, my phone buzzes in my pocket, telling me that I'm getting a few text messages. I wanted to ignore them, but decided against it as I sighed and pulled my phone out, only to see I got a couple texts from Gaara and rose an eyebrow. Gaara never texts unless it's important.

My curiosity getting the best of me, I opened the messages and they're all asking how Naruto was doing, and they're all from the times that school let out. My reception must be that bad in this room. And not to anger the red head any more than he probably was, I decided to step out into the hall and stand by the door way and called him up, figuring that'd be the best way to tell him.

"Why haven't you answered my texts?" Were the first words the red head said into my ear, and I could tell he was livid.

"I just got them all at once, I'm in a hospital, reception is bad here. And I think you should come visit, bring your brother and sister along also." I said, suggesting something that sounded like a great idea.

"I'm on my way over anyway, we're trying to find a parking spot as we're speaking, but it looks like the whole garage is packed and full." Gaara said, and I felt bad for Temari. She hated parking garages, so this actually sounds like a miracle to her.

"Park in the back, tell them Tsunade said you could and that you're seeing Naruto Uzumaki, and I'll give her a quick message." I told him, and hoped it'd work. "Tsunade is like his grandmother and she lets anyone park back there if they're here to see him."

"We'll try, but if it doesn't work, I'm dropping Gaara off and Kankuro and I can see him tomorrow after school." I heard Temari said, I must have been put on speaker a moment ago.

"Alright, see ya." I said before our conversation was over and I walked back into the room and sat down in my chair.

"Who were you talking to?" Naruto asked, curiously wondering if I invited someone he didn't like to come over.

"Gaara and his siblings wanna come and see how you're doing, that's all. I don't think I got anything from Shikamaru, Kiba and Shino yet." I told him, which is true enough. The last thing I got from those three were telling me to get better when I left school.

"Gaara's coming to see me?" Naruto beamed, and when I looked at him, his face lit up so much with excitement his eyes even sparkled. Naruto and Gaara were friends when Gaara and his siblings moved to Konoha last year. And before Naruto had any influence on Gaara and the other two, they were stuck up assholes and Gaara looked like he had a murderous streak on his record.

Even after Naruto talked sense into the three guys, Gaara could still hold that look on his face without any effort, but he at least had a heart now and could be shown as a caring and loving individual. Naruto should become a psychologist.

"Yea, he even got mad at me for not replying to his text messages like he wanted." I said, and I couldn't help but smile when Naruto laughed for the first time since yesterday.

"That's so like Gaara, too bad I don't have a phone so I can talk to everyone." Naruto said, his voice becoming sadder by the time he was done.

"Well, you're birthday is coming up, you might get one." I said.

"No I won't." Naruto said before I could add anything else to what I was saying, and he looked just as depressed as he did two days ago.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because, everything I save up for is taken and spent for bills and stuff." Naruto sighed.

"Wait, your dad doesn't pay the bills? And how in the hell do you pay for them?"

"Dad buys booze, Sasuke, and I work third shift for McDonalds on weekends." He answered, I never knew he had a job. "You guys don't see me because I'm in the back making the food. I asked not to be put on the register because I'd just fuck everything up."

I wanted to retaliate about Naruto having to work so that he and his father could live in the house they're living in now. I was even starting to get pissed off and wanted to throw everything that was around me, until I heard footsteps come up to Naruto's door and someone stand there, the eyes boring into me like daggers and I knew Gaara was already here.

"Temari and Kankuro are coming later, they wouldn't allow us back there to park." Gaara said in his usual soft, low tone, but his gaze softened when he finally looked over at Naruto and I could have sworn he looked worried. "How are you doing Naruto?"

"I'll be fine, just a web fracture in two spinal disks and some stitches, I gotta live in the wheelchair for a few months but other than that, I'm healthy as a horse." Naruto said with his usual toothy grin as he turned his head to look at Gaara. "And I'm not allowed to lay on my back, which sucks ass. Hell, all of it sucks fucking ass."

"Do you know when you're leaving?" Gaara asked when he walked the rest of the way into his room and moved Naruto's notebook off the other chair and sat down, passing me the notebook and I put it on the table.

"I'm leaving in the morning. Dad's supposed to come and pick me up." Naruto said when I got a text message from Itachi saying that Naruto's dad checked himself into a rehab center and that we were letting Naruto stay with us for the remainder of him recovering. I wanted to rip someone's head off for not telling me sooner.

"Too late, Itachi and I are taking you home and you're staying with us Naruto." I told him.

"Wait, why?" He asked, and he sounded hurt that his dad wasn't going to pick him up.

"Your dad checked into a rehab center."

"He was supposed to be going home to sleep!" Naruto yelled, and I knew he was completely frustrated once again. "Get me the goddamn number to the rehab center he went to, I'm calling and telling him to get his ass back home."

"You can't do that once you're checked into a rehab center Naruto, Itachi just told me. Fucking hell? It's like he knew exactly what you'd do when I told you." I said, mumbling the last bit to myself though I didn't care if Gaara and Naruto heard me.

"Get Tsunade-baa-chan." Naruto said as he then tried to force himself up into a sitting position, but didn't get far when he winced. I could only blink and Gaara just stared at the fuss Naruto was making over this information, it was like someone told him his dad was kidnapped and was being held for ransom or something.

"Gaara, I'll be back, and don't let his nurse in." I told Gaara as I got up.

"Why can't his nurse come in?" Gaara asked, though the person he should be asking is Naruto.

"Naruto doesn't like him, and I don't know how to explain it." I told him. "Just don't let him in, and if he gives any problems, get Matatabi, she's the only nurse Naruto wants."

"Alright, just don't take too long." Gaara nodded, getting up and taking my chair when I left the room and went up to the desk down the hall.

"Oh, Sasuke, is everything alright?" Matatabi's voice echoed in my head as I approached her, her bright blue hair swaying as she turned her head from the files in her arms to look at me.

"Yea, um, Naruto wants to see Tsunade, is she busy?" I asked.

"Yes, she's about to go into surgery." She said, and I sighed heavily.

"Okay, and will you come with me also. Naruto is dead serious about not letting his nurse come into the room." I told her, raking my hand through my hair as I started to feel uneasy about not being in Naruto's room every second that passed by.

"I'll be right there, just let me put these files down where they need to go and I'll be on my way." She smiled, and I could see why Naruto liked her. She had a way of calming everyone around her just by being near them.

I smiled back and nodded as I went back to Naruto's room on rushed feet. But when I got back to the room, Naruto and Gaara were talking amongst themselves, though Gaara was pissed off once again and Naruto was nearly on the other side of the bed clinging to his pillow trying not to cry.

"What the hell happened while I was gone?" I asked, my blood starting to boil.

"You didn't tell me it was Yaguro that was his nurse, Sasuke." Gaara hissed, and I could tell something was terribly wrong.

"What difference does that make?" I asked.

"Don't let that man anywhere near that doorway or you'll have me to answer to, Sasuke." Gaara threatened as he glared at me with such intensity that I thought my heart was being stabbed with a white hot dagger.

"Can you tell me something about him that I honestly have no clue about?" I asked, but Naruto just quickly shook his head and refused to talk. Gaara wouldn't say anything either as he saw Naruto's reaction. I guess Gaara promised Naruto not to say anything about whatever is bothering the idiot.

"Matatabi is on her way in a moment." I said and sat in the chair Gaara was in earlier, and he seemed to relax a lot when he heard her name.

"She's a good nurse, I had her every time I needed to come in here for my insomnia." Gaara said, now crossing his right knee over his left as he got himself comfortable. "And I'll stay here as long as I possibly can. My father doesn't know that I'm here, but he won't mind."

"Your dad is freaking creepy Gaara." Naruto finally said, like he finally found his voice and calmed down enough to go back to the position on his bed that he really should be in at all times.

"I know … I know." The red head sighed heavily. "Are you staying here tonight Sasuke?"

"Yea, do you wanna stay too?" I asked, wondering why he'd ask.

"If it was a Friday or a Saturday, I would, but with it being a school night, I don't know. My father already has a hard enough time getting us three kids to school with his work schedule." Gaara explained.

"What if Itachi would give you a ride to school? He's taking the next few days off work anyway to help with this idiot while we're at school." I suggested, mostly because I knew he'd feel better if he knew Naruto was alright in his own eyes. It also gave me a feeling that Gaara liked Naruto in some way.

"That might work, my father trusts your brother … I think." Gaara nodded just when his own phone started ringing. "And that's him calling now." He said, but I remember him saying that he has his fathers' ring tone set to a specific song so he'd know who it was so he'd answer. He hated answering calls from people he didn't want to talk to.

"Yes Dad?" Gaara said, and then instantaneously, he started glaring at someone he wished was standing, or sitting, in front of him so he could pulverize them. "I'm sorry Dad, I forgot that someone needed to be home for your delivery. I was just checking up on my friend who got seriously hurt and is in the hospital." He said, and his words held quite a bit of venom in them. "I'll have Temari and Kankuro come pick me back up. They went to get something to eat down the street from the hospital … Yea, we'll be home soon." And with that the phone call was ended.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, afraid to, but I needed to know if he was staying here or not.

"Yea, I forgot Dad was getting a delivery of gold so he could start making jewelry at his store. The three of us were supposed to be there to sign for the crap an hour ago." He fumed as he quickly looked for one of his siblings' phone numbers and pushed the talk button on his phone and brought it up to his ear. "Yea, come pick me up, Dad is furious … I'll be out front."

"I'm sorry …" I said, and I truly did. "See about coming out later. I'm going to have Itachi bring me a change of clothes later so he might be able to pick you up."

"It's going to take some real hard convincing for my Dad to let me go now. But we'll try. Temari and Kankuro wanna visit him badly, but I'll tell them he's going home with you tomorrow." Gaara said as he stood up, shoving his phone back into his pocket as he got ready to leave.

"I'll miss you Gaara." Naruto mumbled, surprising us because he had been so quiet these last few minutes. I honestly thought he fell back asleep.

"I'll try to come back later, okay Naruto?" Gaara said, calmly with a small smile on his face as he reached over and ruffled Naruto's hair, earning one of Naruto's famous toothy grins, though it was small.

"I'll call you when I talk to Itachi." I told Gaara as he made his way towards the door.

"Thanks Sasuke, and please, make sure that asshole doesn't come in here while Naruto's sleeping. It's one of the reasons why I'm going to try hard to get my father to let me come here tonight; so someone can stay with him at all times." Gaara said, now standing in the doorway facing me.

I only nodded and watched Gaara leave, making me sigh heavily in annoyance. When was the last time that guy slept anyway?

"Hey, Sasuke, where's my water?" Naruto asked, and I could tell how dry his throat was.

"It's right here." I said, getting up and reaching over to the table and grabbed the water that he didn't drink yet and opened it for him. Luckily, laying on his stomach is letting him drink while still laying down. I'd hate to have to move him and send bouts of pain through him just to get something to drink.

"Thanks Sasuke." Naruto said after I pulled the water from his lips and put the lid back on the bottle. He laid his head back down and I could tell instantly that he was going to be sleeping almost the entire time he was here because of the pain medicine he was receiving.

"I'm here, sorry it took so long, another patient fell while trying to get out of bed and ripped his IV's out." Matatabi's smooth and calming voice said as I heard her enter the room on padded feet from wearing those weird clog shoes.

"It's alright, he's just been dozing in and out the last half hour anyway." I told her as I put the bottle of water down and got out of her way. "And I have a question."

"Ask away Sasuke." She said as she came over and placed a soft hand on Naruto's shoulder before lowering the blanket down to his waist and unstrapped the brace and gently took it off and started working on taking the bandages off. I wanted to see the damage on his back, but my stomach said it didn't, but I continued to watch anyway.

"Can you be Naruto's nurse tonight?" I asked, realizing I hadn't asked her yet.

"Tsunade put him on the schedule to be his nurse, you'll have to talk to her about it." Matatabi said, and I wanted to grind my teeth so hard that they chipped.

"I'll talk to her right now, I'll be in the hallway." I said and stormed out of the room while pulling my cell phone out and called Tsunade's number. She had given it to me a long while back when we first started noticing how bad Naruto's injuries were getting at the start of the year when school started. And I'm glad I still had it.

"Hey, Tsunade, it's Sasuke, I need to know if you can change Naruto's night nurse to Matatabi … every time that guy comes to his room when he's awake, he freaks out so bad he almost falls out of bed." I said when she finally answered after calling twice.

"Sure, tell Matatabi that she's staying overtime." Tsunade sighed heavily into the phone. She sounded exhausted, and then I remembered she was in surgery. I guess I called right when she got done.

"Thank you Tsunade." I said, ending the conversation and walking back into the room and stood frozen in place when I saw how bad Naruto's back was. The sight of the cut alone made me want to puke, but the color of his skin was like someone took spray paint. The bruise was blotchy with three different colors; black, blue and yellow. It made me wonder how Naruto could even get himself to move from all the pain he could possibly be in.

"Hey, Sasuke, what are you staring at?" Naruto asked, and he sounded really uncomfortable, whether it be pain or because I was staring at him without realizing it.

"Nothing." I said quickly before I finished walking back into the room. "Matatabi, Tsunade made sure I tell you you're staying overtime." I added before I forgot and sat down at the foot of his bed, I wanted to watch and see what I needed to do because the dobe was now staying with us for a while. God, this was going to be the longest few months in my life.