This may be the "cleanest" M chapter that I've ever written

CHAPTER RATING: M

Episode 15: Mixed Messages

Naruto rested on Sakura's shoulder as she walked him to her house; his right arm holding his ribs tightly. It seemed to Sakura that he was swaying with every step; every step that Naruto took seemed to be followed by a limp and flinch of pain.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Sakura asked him.

"Y-yeah" he flinched. "It's just that the pain is still present. It hurts, but it doesn't hurt that much." He replied with a smile.

"My house is closer than yours, so I'll bring you there, you can rest in my room until you're feeling better."

"That sounds like a good idea."

When they arrived at her house, Naruto rested his shoulder on the wall while Sakura opened the door. He extended his arm again and rested it on her shoulders as she lead him into the house.

She gently led him to her room and laid him down on her bed. His face held an expression of pain as his body straightened. He took a deep breath and smiled at her as he exhaled.

"Stay still, I'll be back with bandages and medicine." She instructed. He nodded as she stood up and exited the room. Sakura scoured her cabinets for the medicinal painkillers and bandages, but could find nothing.

"Naruto, I need to go out for a bit, I'll be back soon with some medication and bandages. Don't go anywhere." She commanded. His response was an gentle nod. As if he was going anywhere.

"W-wait, Sakura-chan." He sternly said.

"What is it, Naruto?"

He extended his hand; she took it with a gentle grip.

"Sakura-chan…Do you trust me?" Sakura's heart momentarily froze; struck with surprise, she replied.

"Naruto…" she rested her hand on his cheek. "You've always been with me, and I will always trust you. No matter what happens."

He closed his eyes and listened to Sakura's footsteps as she walked out of the house. He began to drift into sleep from the pain that he felt in his side. His deep breaths were slowly easing the pain, little by little.

Sakura stepped out of the door, still wearing his jacket that he had given to her earlier in the day. She'd have to go directly to Tsunade, not only for the medicine, but to discuss matters that concerned herself, and Naruto.

…

Minutes later, Sakura was heading up that stairs to the Hokage's office, in her hands, she held a plastic bag. She knocked on the door and slowly opened it, slowly entering the room to be sure that her presence was known. She looked into the room and saw the familiar sight of her master, Tsunade as well as Shizune.

"Sakura, what is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Master, I don't think that we should go on with the plan?" Sakura asked.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked with her arms crossed.

"Because, he's already proved to me that he's loyal, twice." Sakura answered back.

"Surely, one more test isn't too much of a challenge for him?" Shizune added.

"I don't doubt him at all, but today, we had an accident during training. His ribs are broken. That's why I have this." Sakura held up the plastic bag. "I don't think he'll make it through this one."

"You broke his ribs?" Tsunade asked. "Why did you hit him so hard?"

"I didn't hit him, I kicked his shadow clone, but the effect seems to have transferred to him."

"I did not expect this." Tsunade answered back. "But it's already too late. The operation has started. Now we'll just have to see how he handles it."

"But, how can you even think of doing something like this!" Sakura protested. "The person who will administer this 'test' is-"

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade interrupted. "Sakura, these are my orders as Hokage, even she cannot refuse these orders." She stood from her chair and looked at her talented disciple. "Do you understand?!"

"B-but, she's…she's my…" Sakura looked down while turning away.

"…Yes, I understand."

…

Naruto awoke to the slam of the front door as he groggily tried to pull himself up into a seated position. He was able to bring himself to his elbows while looking at the doorway.

He waited for a voice to call out to him.

Sakura-chan would tell me if she came back…Who is this person who's entered the house?

His mind wandered for a minute until her realized something that he had forgotten.

Sakura had parents.

Oh no. What am I supposed to do? Do they even know that we're together?

Even more worryingly, did they know that he had "stayed" there before?

An idea popped into his head as he worried about being discovered.

"Transformation!" a cloud of smoke engulfed him; he visually disappeared, and in his place was a stuffed bear. He heard footsteps approaching as he tried his best to hold the form, but the pain and exhaustion began to rip away at his side.

Focus…! Stay calm, just relax! He said this to himself, but at the same time…How was he going to get out of this situation? He lay in Sakura's bed, motionless, trying his best to keep composed.

A woman with blonde hair walked into view.

Damn it! It's her mom! What the hell am I supposed to do?!

Sakura's mother turned left and walked away. Naruto let out a deep sigh, but quickly drew his breath back into his lungs as her head came back into view. She walked closer to him, causing his heart rate to rise even more.

"Hmm…I don't remember Sakura having a bear like this." She said aloud.

Not good! Not good at all! He panicked.

She bent over him, staring at his apparent appearance. She brought her hand and rested it on the bear…Which just so happened to be the same area where Naruto had injured his ribs. He felt a pressure against his ribs that shot pain throughout his body.

It's no good. I can't maintain it anymore…

A puff a smoke materialized and Naruto was now in place of the stuffed bear. His only reaction to this turn of events was to awkwardly smile while trying to ignore the immense pain that hovered over his body.

"Umm….I can explain…" he stuttered. He fumbled with his words until she interrupted him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." She stated.

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan's mother." He replied.

"What are you doing here?"

"W-well, you see, I was training with Sakura-chan, when she hit one of my shadow clones and the pain transferred to me."

His words came out faster than he could process them in his mind.

"She brought me here, but there weren't any bandages or medicine, so she had to go get some, and so she left me here to rest until she came back."

"Call me Mebuki." She ordered.

"Uh…O-Okay, M-Mebuki-san." He said awkwardly as he flinched in pain.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Mebuki asked.

"Well, if you could help ease the pain, then it would help."

"I'll try my best, we'll need to take a look under that shirt to see if there's been any real damage."

"Y-yeah." Naruto replied with a red face. He grasped his shirt and tried his best to lift it over his head. But the pain was too much, and his arms fell to his sides. "…I can't take it off."

Mebuki reached into her back pocket and pulled out a kunai.

"We'll just cut it off then." She brought the edge close to his throat as he closed his eyes. He heard the fabric split in half, and then heard the fabric ripping down his body.

He looked down to find that his entire side was a dark scarlet. She gently placed her hand on it, he responded by suddenly flinching away in pain. Mebuki looked up at his face; a stream of blood began to run from his mouth down to his chin.

Mebuki brought her hand to his face and wiped away the blood. She smiled at him as his eyes were wide in shock and confusion.

"T-Thank you…?" They sat in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours.

"Naruto-san…Do you love my daughter?"

"…uh…Y-Yes, Yes I do. I love her very much…More than anyone ever." She didn't answer back, instead, she brought a glowing green hand to his side. He flinched as he felt the healing process within his ribs.

"This will stop the internal bleeding, don't make any sudden movements. You won't heal properly until we bandage you up."

Naruto nodded. Her hand hovered over his injury, slowly healing him as best as she could.

"Naruto-san...Have you ever been unfaithful to my daughter?" she asked. Surprised, he decided to keep the events with Hinata and Karin to himself…even if it was a shadow clone.

"N-No. I would never imagine of doing anything like that. Never." He answered back.

"You have never…EVER been unfaithful? You do realize that being faithful will break a woman's heart, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"You wouldn't break my daughter's heart, right?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Good."

She moved closer to him. He brought his hand to her shoulder and pushed her back slightly.

"Whoa, wait. What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I'm testing your faithfulness."

"What?!" He pushed her back farther. "I don't know what's going on, but I've got to-"

She pushed down on his ribs, causing pain to interrupt his thoughts. Before he had realized it, she pushed herself up against him; an intense heat pushed against his bare chest through her tight dress. Their lips connected and he could feel her tongue in his mouth, twisting and moving against his.

His heart was racing as he felt her body against his; the pain still surged through his body. He pushed her away and scrambled to his feet. He didn't say anything; he just stared at her with disbelief in his eyes. He breathed heavily, grasped his ribs and coughed into his hand.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

He turned and saw the doorknob rotate. A thought flashed through his mind.

No matter who is behind this door, this will be bad.

The door opened and he saw Sakura with a plastic bag.

"Naruto?! What are you-"

Pain shot through his legs and he lost his footing, falling forward. Sakura caught him with her arms and let him down onto the floor. Her eyes showed concern as he began to cough up blood.

"I-I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I tried my best. But I don't even know what happened…"

"Hang on, Naruto. We'll get you to the hospital right away!"

Naruto's eyes closed, and his world went black.

…

When Naruto came to, he was in a hospital bed, groggy and exhausted.

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura jumped and hugged him.

"Y-yeah, I'm awake…Doesn't this seem familiar?" he said with a smile. She kissed him, broke away, and smiled back.

"Naruto, did anything happen while you were at my house, waiting for me? Why did you run out of the house?"

He thought for a second.

"I-I don't remember why." He lied.

She smiled and began to walk away.

"Wait! S-Sakura-chan…Do you still trust me?" Naruto asked.

"I've already told you, Naruto. I will always trust you." She replied.

He rested his head back on his pillow.

"How long do you think I will have to be here?"

"With broken ribs, we'll have to wait and see." She said with a smile.

As Sakura stepped out of the room, Tsunade was waiting for her by the door.

"How did it go?" She asked Sakura. Sakura looked at her master with eyes filled with determination.

"Do you see him in that room? Did you see the pain that he had to go through? I trust him more than anyone else, and I won't be doing anymore of these 'tests' of yours, even if you are my master AND the Hokage."

Tsunade returned Sakura's stare with a look of surprise.

"You're right. I understand. No more of this nonsense will be conducted in the future." Tsunade turned and walked down the hallway.

Sakura walked back into the room, closed the door and locked it.

"S-Sakura-chan? What are you doing?"

"…I'm here to keep you company."

Man, writing two stories is hard, I'm starting to get these events mixed up.

I just want to say that I really do appreciate people reading what I'm writing.

But please remember that even though I enjoy writing these, this isn't paying the bills.

So, as much as I want to say that I will be updating every weekend, I probably won't be able to do so for EVERY WEEK.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you look forward to chapter 16