Ta-da! Chapter Four has arrived. I apologize for the wait and I hope it is worth it.

As always, I do not own Naruto.

Eyes flickering open as he moaned, Naruto awoke and glanced around. Everything was clean, too clean. The world was white and he did not like it. When his brain caught up to what he was seeing, he let out a weak growl. He was in a hospital, but the details of how he had gotten there were sketchy. He remembered having bad stomach pains and falling over before being caught by a strong arm, but that was the extent of what he knew. Looking around for any clues, he was surprised to see a head of raven hair on the bed. Naruto knew it was Sasuke, even though the face was buried in the blankets. He must have been brought in by Sasuke.

His brow furrowed in confusion, why would Sasuke, of all people, stay at his bedside? He thought more on the subject, attempting to puzzle it out. Sasuke had always treated him strangely, maybe that had not changed. The guy had once leapt in the path of a knife meant for Naruto. The words after he had woken up in the ICU? My body moved on it's own.

What on earth did that mean? Naruto sighed at the memory. They had been so stupid back then, getting into meaningless fights that led to pain. There were a few that were not as meaningless, that resulted in making a friend or two. However, the crimson aftermath of many fights was sickening to him. Any shade of red was a terrible color. It was like...

A terrible pain interrupted his thought process and he cried out. Wrapping his arms around his stomach, he curled into a fetal position and continued to cry out, not caring who heard. His only conscious thought was the pain numbing his brain. The twisting felt as if his stomach was ripping out of his gut and taking pieces of other organs with it. It became so bad that a scream split from his lips and he thrashed, tearing the needle from his hand in the process.

Sasuke had grabbed his arm, but all he knew was that someone was trying to restrain him as they called out his name. "Go away! I don't want you! Go away, Papa!" He screamed out, the words mixed with cries of pain.

The door banged open as nurses and Lady Tsunade ran in, responding to the screams and the push of the emergency button on the bed, thanks to Sasuke. Naruto screamed louder as nurses attempted to hold him down and put an IV back in. There were people shouting, but Naruto only heard his father's voice and felt his father's hands. "Leave me be! I don' wanna!" Tears poured from his now shut eyes and he continued to fight back against the hands that were trying to harm him.

"Naruto, it's Sasuke. Calm down." He only heard his name, nothing more.

"Dobe!" What was that?

"Dobe!" There it was again...Who was that?

"I know you can hear me! Calm down, dobe. It's me, Sasuke." Sasuke? Wait. That wasn't his father and the voice sounded friendly. It sounded almost kind, in it's own way.

Naruto's thrashing slowed and he opened his eyes cautiously, biting his lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain. Finding the source of the voice standing beside the bed, leaning over him, Naruto stared into the almost black eyes and unknowingly started to calm down little by little. A warm hand came to gently brush his forehead and then rest on his shoulder in a comforting manner. "Sasuke..." He gasped between sobs. Resting his cheek against the hand, Naruto shut his eyes as the nurses inserted an IV and started to pump medicine into his veins, which quickly started to take effect, washing away the pain.

He shook for the next ten minutes, and it took even longer for his heart rate to return to normal. The tears eventually came to a stop and when they did, he felt extremely tired. Opening his eyes, he once again looked into dark orbs that seemed to be holding back emotions of worry. "Thank you, Sasuke." He managed to whisper, his dry throat, mouth, and lips causing his voice to crackle.

"Here." Sasuke produced a cup of ice cubes. "Sit up." Sasuke helped him prop himself against pillows and get into a sitting position. He felt surprised by the gentleness he was receiving from the solemn raven, and even more so when the raven held the cup of ice for him as he put piece after piece into his mouth. When the cup was empty, Sasuke placed it on a table and then turned to Naruto.

"The Hokage is worried." Naruto remained quiet and stared at the blankets. This was why he had not wanted to come to the hospital. Tsunade did not need something else on her plate, she had enough to deal with. Adding his little problem on top of that was something he disliked doing. There was no changing it now, however.

"She will not tell me anything. Apparently, neither will you." The tone that Sasuke used caused Naruto to look up, which he immediately regretted for Sasuke was staring at him with an almost sad expression. It was as if Sasuke wanted to know what was wrong with him so that he could help. Naruto shook his head, reminding himself that it was impossible.

"It is a long story, Sasuke. One that has not ended." Naruto replied sadly, returning his gaze to the blankets covering his sickly form. "Get me out of here, and maybe I'll tell you some of it." He decided that Sasuke deserved to know a little; the man had saved his life on numerous occasions, after all.

Sasuke gave a 'Hmph' noise, which Naruto took to mean 'We shall see'. Naruto rubbed his stomach gently and let out a soft sigh. He found his thoughts turning to the pain from moments ago. The twisting had not gotten bad enough to require morphine in years. Normally, he could make the sensation go away with some tylenol or by taking a few sleeping pills and going to bed. Father, why is your curse affecting me this way now? It is has been a long time since then. Can't you just stay away from my life?

Kit, you should rest. Think about this when you have the strength to do so.

A shiver went down his spine and he stared at the white ceiling. "Too clean..." He whispered before shutting his eyes. Naruto felt warm hands draping the blanket around his shoulders and he let out a shaken breath. "Go to sleep," came a quiet, masculine voice that was not in his head, but rather from an outside source. Thank you, Sasuke. Even though you should hate me, you treat me like this. This kindness, I will accept, for it won't last for long. It never does. Nevertheless, I wish I could tell you what this kindness means to me. No matter what I say I will tell you, I cannot tell you everything. You can never know. None of my friends can know. I am sorry.

Naruto's breathing evened out and he fell into a light sleep. While he slept, Sasuke gently stroked his hair with a solemn expression on his face. Naruto was not the only one with secrets and inner conflict. The raven hid a secret almost as terrible as Naruto's beneath onyx eyes, and same as the blond, he refused to speak of it, in fear of a certain someone's disgust.

A bit short, I know, but I will try to get the next chapter out soon to make up for it! Thank you and please review!