Chapter 8

The moon was bright over Naruto as he squatted on the silent road, his calloused fingers carefully tracing the wagon tracks in the soft ground.

A few feet in front of him, the carriage that the politician had been riding in was tipped on its side and charred black, the horses that had been pulling it a tangled, shadowy mass in the dirt.

His face set as hard as stone, Naruto approached the carriage, peering inside. Two bodies, assumedly the politician and his wife, lay together. Their burnt bodies were twisted and horribly disfigured, the clawed remains of their hands still grasping desperately at the carriage walls. The scent of charred flesh made Naruto's throat tighten.

Scattered around the carriage were the bodies of the Konoha shinobi, still as shadows in the moonlight. Naruto went to them one by one, examining their injuries, whispering his apologies to each of them in turn. They were all so young. Children, barely out of the academy. One of them, wearing a badge that marked her as one of Sakura's medical trainees, lay overtop of a comrade. A long sword impaled them both to the ground.

Naruto frowned as he walked over to them, bending down to examine the sword carefully. It was unmarked and unremarkable; no distinguishing features to point him in the direction of its owner. Still frowning, Naruto ran his hand up and down the hilt slowly, trying to detect even the faintest trace of chakra. When this yielded no results, he even went so far as the pensively sniff at the sword. But even with his heightened senses, all Naruto could smell was death.

A slight rustling in the trees lining the road drew Naruto's attention. When he glanced over, a dozen pairs of eyes stared back at him. A murder of crows perched in the trees above him, waiting patiently for him to leave so they could descend upon their feast. Naruto growled, low and threatening, but the carrion birds seemed unconcerned.

He turned away from them; mind once again bent on his task. After a few more minutes spent wandering amongst the bodies, Naruto finally found what he was looking for: an enemy.

Naruto flipped the kunoichi over, examining her carefully. Just like the sword, this woman's clothing and appearance were unremarkable. Naruto could easily feel the lingering traces of her chakra. Again, it wasn't one that he recognized.

Sighing in agitation, Naruto abruptly stood, summoning a clone as he did. When the clone appeared beside him, it didn't hesitate before stooping to pull the kunoichi's body into his arms, nose wrinkling slightly with disgust.

"Should I send a team to guard the scene until it gets properly investigated?" The clone asked.

"Yes," Naruto replied, nodding distractedly. "Once you drop off the body, find Sasuke and tell him I'll be back before morning."

The clone frowned. "Okay but, you should hurry back, you know. Sasuke's mad at us. Again."

"I know." Naruto sighed.

Without another word, the clone turned on the ball of his foot and vanished into the night. Naruto sighed again, taking a few steps towards the blackness of the forest. He would go and examine the location where Kakashi and Yamato were attacked. Hopefully his search would yield more results there.

He hadn't gotten very far when the slightest stirring caught his attention.

Somewhere nearby, someone's chakra began to weakly flow.

Naruto whipped around wildly as a faint moan reached his ears. He began weaving back towards the overturned carriage, his eyes fixed on the two bodies impaled together. He knelt down beside them, and after a moment of hesitation, carefully moved the long brown hair of the fallen medical kunoichi. The man beneath her groaned again, his eyelids twitching as a sudden rush of air flowed over him. Without the kunoichi's hair covering his face, Naruto was able to recognize the boy, and his stomach twisted into an icy knot.

It was Ino's student, Eros, who had just been made Chunin in the last examinations.

His breath stalling in his chest, Naruto turned back to the kunoichi, lifting her hair once more. Blank, unseeing eyes met he gaze; blood was still dripping down from her parted lips.

"Damn it all." Naruto growled, his hands shaking with fury. "Aya-chan."

The sound of his voice made Eros stir again, his eyebrows knit together in a frown as he slowly opened his eyes. For a moment he simply stared up at the night sky, mapping out the gleaming stars. And then his eyes slid blankly over to Naruto's face, and it was a while before recognition dawned in them.

"Naruto-sama?" The boy whispered, his voice raspy and barely audible. "Am I dead?"

"No," Naruto shook his head, hands trembling slightly as he stroked long hairs away from Eros' face. "You're alive. You're here with me."

Eros seemed relieved, some of the tension melting away from his expression.

"That's good," He mumbled. "Ino-sensei would have been upset…if I died…oh, that's right. Aya was healing me. I think…I got stabbed."

Naruto swallowed nervously as the Eros' eyes strayed back to his face. Looking confused, he weakly attempted to lift up his head, but Naruto discreetly held it down.

"Easy now." Naruto murmured, trying to mimic the soothing tone he had heard Sakura use on patients so many times.

"Why do I still feel like I got stabbed?" Eros asked, confusion in his voice. "Aya said she would heal me."

His eyes widened alarmingly, what little colour remained in his face draining completely. "Gods. Aya! Where is Aya? I promised Leon I would protect her! Naruto-sama, where is Aya?"

"Eros," Naruto replied shakily. "You have to stay calm."

With a violent shaking of his head, Eros dislodged Naruto's gentle hand, attempting to sit up. And then he froze. For a moment, he simply stared at his teammates familiar face, her hair still streaming across his chest like a shining robe.

"A-Aya?" He whispered, raising a shaking hand to touch her. He immediately pulled his hand away, shuddering at the iciness of her skin. And then his eyes strayed up to the sword looming above them. With growing horror, his eyes traced down the shining blade, following its path as it pierced through Aya's prone back, through her heart, and into his chest.

Without warning, Eros screamed. His body convulsed wildly and he screamed again, the blade still lodged within him cutting him as he moved. He reached up to scramble wildly at the blade, cutting his fingers as he hyperventilated, blind panic in his eyes.

"Naruto-sama, help me!" He screamed. "Help me! Get it out - get it out of her! Get it out!"

Naruto tried in vain to calm him. Quickly giving up, he grabbed Eros' hands and squeezed them together tightly. "Stop, Eros! You're hurting yourself!"

The boy laughed, his eyes wild and unseeing as his chest continued to rise and fall rapidly, but no air reached his lungs. "You think I care?" He choked out. "You think I care?"

Not knowing what else to do, Naruto drew upon his vast pools of chakra. The familiar, comforting glow of gold rushed over his skin, and Naruto directed it towards Eros. The boy shuddered again as Naruto's chakra surrounded him with warmth and light, healing the fresh wounds on his hands. He stopped hyperventilating, but tears began pouring from his eyes as he gasped for air.

"Please, Naruto-sama." Eros cried, staring at his Hokage pleadingly. "Please take the sword out. I can't…I can't see Aya like this. Please."

"I can't pull it out." Naruto replied, sadness pinching at the corners of his eyes. He felt very old, all of a sudden. "Look, Eros."

He carefully helped the boy to lift his head, gently moving Aya's hair so that Eros could see where the blade entered his chest.

"Aya-chan was trying to heal the wound around the blade." Naruto explained softly. "If I pull it out now, I'd only make it worse."

"Why would she do that?" Eros asked shakily. "She was dying! Why wouldn't she try to heal her own wounds first?"

"You were her friend." Naruto's voice was deep and coarse with emotion. "She loved you. Until the end, all she wanted was to protect you."

Eros laughed weakly.

"Stupid Aya." He whispered. "That was my job. I promised Leon."

And then he flung his arms over his face, finally giving in to his emotions. As Naruto watched, Eros wailed into the night, his agonized cries echoing through the trees. Taking advantage of his distraction, Naruto reached over the grab the sword. With as much effort as it takes to snap a twig, he broke the blade above Aya's back. After glancing warily at Eros, Naruto proceeded to carefully lift Aya's body off the sword.

Fresh blood ran down the metal onto Eros' chest. He lifted his arms away from his face, staring down at himself, and then over to the body in Naruto's arms. Eros gestured towards her wordlessly, and Naruto lay Aya'a body down beside him. He hugged her close without hesitation, burying his face in her hair.

"Naruto-sama," He mumbled, body beginning to shudder again with pain and tears. "Will you take us home? Just like this?"

"Of course." Naruto whispered.

Without pause, he slid his strong arms beneath them, scooping Eros and Aya up together. Just like he had done a couple years ago. They had been so much smaller then…

Naruto shook his head before standing. Eros cried out once in pain, but then he fell silent, holding onto his fallen comrade tightly. Glancing warily towards the still-watchful crows, Naruto paused to cast several barriers over the entire scene. Once this was done, he turned and strode a few steps down the road, the moisture in the air sizzling softly where it met his chakra.

He vanished with a surge of power, the world fading into darkness as he teleported. Milliseconds later, he reappeared beneath Konoha's main gates. The shinobi on guard jumped in surprise.

"Hokage-sama!" He saluted, wide eyes straying down to the cargo Naruto carried. "We just received orders from your clone. A team has been sent out, sir!"

"Good work." Naruto replied as he strode away, his long legs carrying them through the silent streets quickly. As soon as they were out of earshot, Naruto whispered, "You still with me, Eros?"

The boy nodded weakly, but offered no other response.

"Good." Naruto said. "We'll be at the hospital soon. We'll find someone to help you."

The boy swallowed thickly through his tears. "I…I want Ino-sensei." He whispered. "I don't have a family. Sensei and Leon and A-Aya…they're all I have."

"I understand."

By now, Naruto was climbing the hospital steps. His face was pinched with emotion, his golden chakra roiling around them like angry flames. He kicked open the door, sliding in before it could swing shut on them. The nurse behind the counter jumped to her feet.

"Hokage-sama!" She exclaimed. "What on earth -? I'll call for Haruno-sensei right away!"

Naruto nodded, standing patiently while the nurse picked up the phone, her voice crackling over the intercom as she called for Sakura. A few moments later, Naruto's head turned in the direction of her rapidly approaching chakra. Sakura burst through the swinging doors, her white lab coat billowing behind her. She took in the scene as she strode towards them, reaching out as she grew closer. Her fingers immediately went to Eros and Aya's necks, feeling for a pulse.

After a moment she frowned, green eyes flashing upwards towards Naruto's face. "Naruto, she's…"

"I know." Naruto whispered, glancing meaningfully towards Eros.

Sakura nodded, gesturing for him to follow as she turned and began walking quickly back the way she had come. Without hesitation, Naruto followed her into one of the sterile operating rooms, loosening the curl of his arms to allow her the lift Eros away from him. They detached his grip on Aya with difficulty.

"No!" The boy cried, reaching wildly. "Don't take her away!"

"I won't take her anywhere," Naruto said soothingly, adjusting his hold on Aya so that he could reach over and hold Eros down on the operating table. "We'll stay right here, okay?"

Eros nodded frantically, eyes still wide with pain and shock. He didn't even notice as Sakura approached him with a needle, cutting back his sleeve so she could sterilize the inside of his arm. The drugs worked on him quickly. Within minutes, Eros' head fell to the side, his eyes closed as he fell unconscious.

Naruto backed away from the table as Sakura pulled on a fresh pair of gloves, her pink hair secured behind her headband.

"What on earth happened, Naruto?" She asked, examining the sword still impaling Eros' chest.

"From what I gathered," Naruto exhaustedly replied, laying Aya down on the cool tile floor. "Eros was injured in the fight. Aya tried to heal him, but left herself vulnerable. Someone stabbed her, straight through the heart, right into Eros. I found them…stuck together. I thought they were both dead."

"But the wound has started to heal." Sakura said, confused. "Did she…did Aya-chan try and heal him, even as she lay dying?"

"She was selfless until the end." Naruto whispered, glancing down at the girl. "She would have made a great medic, some day."

Sakura blinked away tears. She set herself to work, cutting away Eros' clothes so she had a clear view of the wound. After sterilizing the area, she reached for her scalpel and began carefully cutting through the skin around the blade. Fresh blood ran down the boy's chest, but she ignored it. After a few minutes, she nodded curtly and placed her scalpel aside.

"Okay." She said. "I need you to come over here and help me."

"What do you need me to do?"

"First of all, turn off the glow for a bit." Sakura ordered, eyeing Naruto's golden chakra. "I need you to pull out the blade slowly, okay? I'm going to heal him a bit at a time. If we try and pull it out all at once, he'll bleed to death in minutes."

"Got it." Naruto nodded, diminishing his chakra immediately. He reached out to grasp the sword carefully, waiting until Sakura was ready.

Healing chakra glowed in her hands as she held them over Eros' chest. "Okay, pull it out. Only about half a centimeter at a time, understand? Any more than that, and I won't be able to keep up with the bleeding. Wait until I give you the go-ahead before pulling it again."

"Okay." Naruto said gravely, gently pulling the blade up.

"Stop there." Sakura said with a nod, leaning over to concentrate on her healing. Five minutes later, she nodded again. "Okay, give me more."

Again Naruto pulled, and Sakura healed. After half an hour had passed, Sakura's eyes flashed over to the silent body in the corner.

"Naruto," She began tensely. "How long…how long do you think she's been dead?"

"Just under twenty-four hours now, I think." Naruto frowned deeply. "She died quickly. Her wounds were serious, after all. She didn't suffer for long."

"Gods," Sakura whispered, green eyes swimming. "This poor boy. Pinned beneath his dead teammate for an entire day…"

"He was unconscious until I got there." Naruto reassured her, pulling up the blade at her urging.

"A small blessing." She replied. "But he's never going to recover from this, Naruto. The trauma something like this causes is…intense."

"I can't even imagine." Naruto shuddered. "As soon as we're done here, we should send for Ino. Eros was asking for her."

Sakura's hands trembled slightly. "This is going to destroy her, Naruto."

"I know." He whispered.

Almost thirty more minutes of labor passed before Naruto was finally able to pull the sharp blade free. He placed it on the tray Sakura gestured to before turning back to watch her chakra stitching together the last of the wound.

"If you're almost done here, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, "I should go and find Ino."

"No, I'll do that." Sakura said, her voice straining with exhaustion. "Actually, Naruto, I was hoping that you could take over for me here. To be honest, I was already pretty tired from healing Kakashi-sensei before we started."

"Oh," Naruto said, surprised. "Of course."

His golden chakra poured through his skin again, enveloping them all. Sakura let her hands fall limply at her side, sighing softly as she momentarily enjoyed the sensation of Naruto's life-giving chakra washing over her. And then she turned, pulling off her gloves and depositing them in the medical waste bin.

"Once you get a chance, you should go check in on Kakashi-sensei." She said wearily. "But NO business talk, okay? All he can talk about is how he failed you. Reassure him for me. He won't heal if he's worrying himself to death."

Naruto smiled weakly. "Yeah, sure."

"And I'm going to send someone to collect Aya-chan's body," She added softly.

"But I promised Eros -" Naruto began to object.

"No." Sakura ordered curtly. "That boy is absolutely not going to wake up to the face of his dead friend. It's way too macabre. I don't give a damn what you promised him. And besides," she added in a gentler tone. "She's starting to smell."

Naruto had no choice but to agree.

"He can visit her in the morgue, when I decide he's ready." Sakura rubbed at her eyes. Her exhaustion was obvious now. "I'll send someone to take him to a room. Keep healing him for at least another half hour, okay?"

Once Naruto had nodded, Sakura turned and slowly walked out of the room. Once the doors had swung shut behind her, Naruto turned to examine the unconscious boy.

His skin was sickly pale from the loss of blood, his lips cracked and dry. His tightly clenched eyes were puffy and rimmed with red, while dark circles surrounded them. Eros had always been a handsome boy, with his dark hair and deep blue eyes. It was painful to see him withered and drenched in blood - the pain still obvious on his face despite his unconsciousness.

Naruto shut his eyes, allowing his mind to drift as he let his chakra work. A million dark and troubling thoughts flashed across his mind, but for now he was too tired to entertain them. Instead, as he did so often, Naruto turned his thoughts to Sasuke.

In that moment, Naruto wanted him desperately. Wanted the warm reassurance of his presence. Too much was happening all at once, and Naruto once again found himself afraid that everything he had worked so hard for was being taken away. The small body in the corner nagged at his conscience. Aya wasn't even sixteen years old…

Blinking away the hot sting of tears, Naruto reapplied himself to the task at hand. He didn't look up from Eros' face, not when attendants came to collect Aya's body, nor when they returned to transfer Eros to a recovery room. But once he was finally certain that not a scratch remained on the boy, Naruto shook himself before leaving the room immediately.

He needed to move, needed to do something. His skin itched with restlessness as he followed the traces of Kakashi's chakra, traversing the halls like a sleepwalker. The door to Kakashi's room was open, so he entered without knocking. Captain Yamato was asleep in the chair by Kakashi's bed, his slow breathing the only sound in the quiet room.

Naruto walked over to the window and slid it open, breathing in the night air deeply. He could feel Kakashi watching him intently, but neither of them spoke for a long time. Finally, Naruto sighed.

"I'm glad you're okay, Kakashi-sensei." He said in a low voice, trying not to wake Yamato. "When I heard that you had been badly injured, I almost went insane."

Kakashi hummed a vague response, but was otherwise silent, not trusting himself to speak.

Before either of them could figure out what to say next, the sound of racing footsteps reached their ears. Seconds later, Ino burst into the room with Sakura on her heels, her blond hair a mess around her red and tear soaked face. Yamato woke with a start as Ino stormed over to Kakashi's bed, raised her shaking hand, and slapped him hard across the face.

Naruto and Sakura cried out in alarm as Kakashi's face jerked to the side violently, his headband sent flying from the force of Ino's strike. Without hesitating, Ino grabbed the front of Kakashi's shirt, hauling him up so that his face was inches away from hers, his mismatched eyes wide with shock and pain.

"They were children." Ino whispered, her voice shaking with barely-contained emotion. "Children, Kakashi. And now Aya-chan, my sweet Aya-chan, is dead. Gone forever."

Her entire body began to tremble, her expression twisting alarmingly as she shook Kakashi roughly. She was screaming at him now, sobbing violently. "She was just a child! You were supposed to protect them! It should have been you, Kakashi! It should have been you!"

"Ino!" Sakura barked, stepping forward to drag her away. "That's enough!"

"Fuck you!" Ino wailed, struggling in vain to free herself from Sakura's strong arms. "I'll kill him myself, Sakura! It's the least he deserves!"

Suddenly she turned, collapsing into Sakura's chest, her rage dissolving into misery.

"I know," Sakura said, stroking her hair gently. "I know, sweetheart. Hush now."

"How could this happen?" Ino asked.

Heavy silence filled the room. Everyone but Ino was staring at Kakashi, who was still staring straight ahead in shock. An angry red mark in the shape of Ino's fingers appeared on the upper part of his cheekbone, disappearing underneath his mask.

After a while, Sakura spoke to Ino softly. "Come on, Ino-chan, let's get you cleaned up. You should be there to comfort Eros when he wakes."

Ino nodded weakly, allowing herself to be guided out of the room. Yamato rose immediately to follow them, clearly concerned that Ino was liable to have another violent outburst.

As soon as they were alone, Kakashi's eyes turned to Naruto searchingly. Pleadingly. It was a look he had never given Naruto before, and Naruto prayed he never would again.

"I don't blame you." Naruto said gently. "I blame the ones who attacked you. I'm going to fix this, Kakashi-sensei. I swear to you."

Kakashi didn't respond. Instead, he lay back once more, draping his arm over his eyes.

Recognizing the countenance of a man who wanted to be alone, Naruto left the room, shutting the door softly. Not wanting to spend another second in the halls of that damned hospital, Naruto crossed to the nearest window, yanking it open and disappearing into the night.

Sasuke was pacing, anger and concern fueling the agitation of his steps. He had taken the time to bathe, hoping to distract himself while awaiting Naruto's return, but his bloodied ANBU uniform still lay on the bathroom floor.

His dark hair, damp and free of its usual ponytail, streamed behind him as he paced. The lights in the kitchen gleamed on his alabaster skin, his naked torso tensed. Finally, he heard the familiar sound of Naruto's steps on the porch. Heart jumping with relief, Sasuke raced out into the hall, eager to greet his lover.

And there he was. He was dirtied, bloodied, smelling of death and exhaustion - but he was there, and he was Sasuke's. Their eyes met and they both sighed, the warmth of reunion easing their minds.

"So?" Sasuke encouraged gently, raking his gaze over Naruto, carefully making sure that none of the blood was his own.

Naruto shook his head. "Too much shit went down tonight, Sasuke. Bad shit. I can't deal with it right now."

He kicked off his sandals and stepped up into the hallway, pulling Sasuke into his arms. Sasuke leaned into his chest, drinking in Naruto's scent and the familiarity of his solid body pressed against Sasuke's own.

"Sasuke?" Naruto placed a soft kiss on his exposed shoulder. "I want to make love to you. Is that okay?"

Sasuke pulled away enough to look up at Naruto's face. He was so handsome, with his sunshine blond hair falling around his strongly crafted face. But his eyes were sad, sadder than Sasuke had seen them in years. He reached up to touch Naruto's face tenderly, his thumb gliding lightly over the dark circles beneath Naruto's eyes.

"Do you think it'll help?" He asked gently.

Naruto tilted his head into Sasuke's touch. "Yeah, for a while."

He really was exhausted. His shoulders were slumped, his eyelids heavy. He swayed slightly in Sasuke's arms.

"I just don't want to think about anything else but you right now, you know?"

Sasuke frowned. But without another word, he kissed Naruto, slowly and gently. Without breaking away, he pulled off Naruto's cloak and vest, slipping his nimble fingers beneath Naruto's shirt. Naruto hummed appreciatively at his attention, pulling away from their kiss to help Sasuke pull his shirt over his blond head.

As soon as he was free, their lips met again with greater passion. Sasuke pushed Naruto against the wall, his dark eyes flashing as he kissed his way down Naruto's chest, sinking to his knees.

"I'm mad at you." Sasuke murmured and he undid the button on Naruto's pants, struggling to pull the zipper down over his erection. "Running off alone to the scene of the attack was reckless and stupid."

"I know," Naruto said, gasping softly as Sasuke freed him from the tight confines of his pants.

"I hope it was worth it." Sasuke continued, teasing his tongue along the bottom of Naruto's shaft.

Naruto moaned as Sasuke's lips enveloped him. He panted slightly. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"And?" Sasuke crooned, enjoying the power he currently had over his partner.

"And I love you." Naruto said in a gentle voice.

Sasuke paused, glancing up at Naruto from his knees. "Well, the correct answer was, "And I'll never do it again", but you still get points for that."

Naruto laughed warmly, staring down at Sasuke with affectionate eyes. For the moment, all his troubles were forgotten. He reached down to cradle Sasuke under the jaw, pulling slightly to encourage him to stand. As soon as he was on his feet, Naruto scooped Sasuke up and carried him down the hall with urgency.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's shoulders, threading his hands into his hair as he kissed Naruto's neck.

"I love you." Naruto repeated.

"And I you." Sasuke murmured.

Naruto slammed the bedroom door shut behind them and got to work on Sasuke's body, exhaustion be damned. He was safe in Sasuke's arms.

Reality would have to wait until morning.

A/N: Two updates in as many days? Shocking! The saucy ending might seem a little out of place, but this chapter was so dang sad, I had to give you guys something. Thanks for reading!