Disclaimers: Naruto isn't mine. This is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, sexual assault, angst, & later- delicious yaoi lemon.

Like Night and Day

Chapter 17

~

Naruto pushed his way into his apartment and sank back against his door with a sigh. After several deep calming breaths, he looked around his studio- at all the familiar parts of his life.

It didn't give him the same sense of relief he was hoping for.

He felt.. disconnected from it- like a stranger in his own home. It was a truly disconcerting feeling. Something in him had changed significantly after everything that he had gone through. Orochimaru had broken something in him- something he wasn't sure he could repair.

He wanted to forget the snake, and everything he had done to him, but he couldn't get his mind to focus on anything else. He could still feel the collars around his neck and wrists.. the feel of having them force him down and drag him to Orochimaru's bed. Every time he let his mind drift, he was back in that hideout- Orochimaru's serpentine tongue thrusting deeper into his mouth, his hands grabbing his thighs, the feel of his excitement rubbing against him.

Please, he thought for the hundredth time, please just stop thinking about it. Think of something else, anything else.

Just not that.

Naruto shook the torment from his mind and moved through the apartment to drop unceremoniously on his bed. He tucked his hands behind his head and glared at the ceiling- imperfect, cracked, likely to collapse under its own weight.. a horrible reflection of the blonde staring up at it.

He blinked back angry tears.

And like this fucking ceiling, my inevitable breakdown is almost impossible not to notice.

He hated being ignored, being shunned, but he was beginning to think he hated pity far more. Well, that and the judgmental stares. Especially from villagers who had perverse notions of who Naruto really was.

When they had first got back to Konohagakure, they went immediately to the hospital. Going there wasn't anything new for Naruto, but there was only one other time Sasuke carried him in like this- and back then they were just kids. A seventeen-year-old carried bridal style by a peer was already something to stop and stare at, but the town pariah held lovingly by the town prodigy? Now that was a marvel. Throw in the blanket wrapped around him, bare feet sticking out beneath it, and the rumors were quick to circulate before he was ever even in an exam room.

Fucking vultures.

The whispers were pretty appalling. People were quick to assume that the "monster" was blackmailing their precious Uchiha into a sordid relationship. Or that this was some kind of test of dominance gone wrong. He even heard people thinking that the idolized teen had saved the "savage" from his perverse hobbies. Over all, the general consensus seemed to be that Naruto got viciously fucked, liked it, and Sasuke was there to save the day. A few concerned looks aimed at Sasuke followed, along with audible worries that he'd be swayed by the sexual deviant- if he wasn't already.

All of it was driving Naruto fucking mad, and he was surprised to find that Sasuke seemed just as livid. Though, he came to assume it had more to do with the town questioning the raven's character than it did with Naruto being wrapped up in groundless rumors again. That was pretty constant for the blonde- they just weren't usually to this.. extreme.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was new to this. And he didn't handle it well. His sharingan slammed into his onyx gaze and he narrowed them on every villager that dared to comment. He even had a moment where he completely snapped.

He was carefully laying Naruto onto a cot that a few medics had brought out for him, when the Uchiha had finally had enough. He spun around, glaring red at the waiting room.

"Shut the fuck up!!" he screamed. A few cowered under his anger, but not everyone was so easily subdued.

"What the hell is your problem, boy?"

Sasuke took a fast step towards them. "My fucking problem is YOU. What gives you the right to talk shit about us when you don't know what the fuck you're talking about?! Do you really have nothing better to do than fantasize about two teenagers?"

The man blanched, his face reddening with embarrassment. "What did you just say?" he snarled, rising to his feet.

Naruto sat up fast, alarmed. "Sasuke- just let it go. It's not worth it."

The Uchiha whipped around to glare at him. "Don't you fucking dare tell me to drop this" he growled, his voice low and dangerous.

Blue eyes widened, surprised by the raven's intensity.

Sasuke ignored the look and turned back to face the range of expressions in the waiting room. "Keep your fucked up thoughts in your head, or I'll make sure you regret it."

Then he turned and followed the medics and Naruto away from the onlookers. The group was speechless as they left, and for quite some time afterwards. Even the man who dared to speak up was quick to follow suit with the crowd.

Very few had been on the other side of a sharingan, and all hoped to avoid it in the future. As much as they cherished the Uchiha kid, they remembered his brother- and there was some unresolved fear that resonated with the town. Not enough to blame Sasuke for what Itachi did, or even remotely hold it against him, but just enough for them to tread lightly around the teen.

Sasuke was still fuming as they moved down the hall and into an exam room at the far end. A doctor suggested he clear out and head to the waiting area, but quickly revoked the invitation when Sasuke's blood-red gaze shot daggers at him. "If you must, I suppose you can stay in here.."

"Great" he snapped.

"We will have to take him back to do some further examinations though."

"No. You won't" Sasuke snarled. "You can do all of that right here."

"Sasuke-" Naruto started, hoping to calm down his heightened teammate.

The Uchiha glared at him. "Naruto, I swear to fucking god-"

The doctor cleared his throat. "Fine. We will this here." He turned his attention to his patient. "Do you give your consent for Mr. Uchiha to be in the room during your examinations?"

Naruto looked up at the doctor then slid his gaze over to Sasuke. Personally, he'd prefer if he wasn't here, but he wasn't interested in facing the raven's wrath right now.

"It's fine.. I guess" he muttered. "Let's just get this over with." He glanced back at Sasuke. "But don't look when I take my clothes off."

He raised his eyebrow. "Are you serious right now? Why does it even matter?"

"Just fucking look away, teme."

"I'll need you to take off your shirt" the doctor cut in.

Naruto gave Sasuke a pointed look and waited for the raven to turn away before pulling his shirt off. He laid back on the slightly propped up cot and let the doctor check for serious injuries. He had quite a few bruises over his ribs, and the doctor gave him a look when he examined the thick bruises on his throat and wrists, but he chose not to comment. He simply told him it would take some time for all of his bruises to heal. Sasuke turned back, ignoring Naruto's indignant shouting, as the doctor moved on to his head. He did find a thick gash along his scalp that he carefully disinfected. The bleeding had stopped, but he made it clear that they should keep disinfecting the area to avoid infection.

Naruto pulled his shirt back on, eager to hide his torso from Sasuke's hungry gaze. Christ.. why is he like this?

It was overwhelming, to say the least. Naruto was still trying to wrap his mind around his feelings towards Sasuke- and whether or not it was real or if he was just going along with it because it felt nice to be wanted. He wasn't ready for all of this. And after everything with Orochimaru.. the idea of being mounted and ravaged by a horny Sasuke was horrifying. But the look he kept giving him made him feel like he was at risk of that very fate.

"You're staring, teme" he remarked, hoping to make the raven feel self-conscious enough to cool the fire in his eyes.

"Yes. I am."

Ok, so that didn't work.

"Well.. don't" he murmured, not knowing what else to say.

"Ok, Naruto" the doctor cut in again, "I need you to remove your boxers now."

Naruto jerked his head up to stare with wide fearful eyes. "What?" he breathed.

"I need to treat all of your injuries" he replied calmly, "but I can't do that if I can't see all of them."

"I-I'm not injured anywhere else" the blonde said hurriedly.

"Naruto, he's a doctor" Sasuke interjected. "Just let him do his job."

Naruto glared. "Fuck you, Sasuke! This has nothing to do with you."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, surprised by the blonde's sudden outburst. Irritation quickly stepped in to replace the shock, however. "Why do you insist on being so goddamn difficult?" he snapped.

Naruto ground his teeth together then turned away, letting heavy golden bangs hide his face from Sasuke's watchful gaze. "Whatever. Just.. just look away."

"Fine."

Naruto looked up to make sure that Sasuke wasn't looking before pulling his boxers free. He bit his lip, then winced as his teeth cut into the part Orochimaru had split open. He ignored the pain and bit down harder as the doctor's gloved hand gently pushed his legs apart. He could feel tears prick his eyes and quickly blinked them away, his face flush with embarrassment and shame.

A horrifying thought popped into his head as the doctor pushed his legs further apart. He's checking to see if I was raped. He swallowed down the sick crawling up his throat at the thought. It made sense though. I mean.. I did come here in nothing but a torn shirt and boxers. It makes sense that he would think that.

Didn't mean that it bothered him any less though.

The doctor nodded and let Naruto pull his clothing back on, which he did fast- anxious for Sasuke to not see him like that. Luckily, he was covered before he turned back around.

His doctor moved down to his foot next, which Naruto assumed would be the worst part of all of this. After all- it was the part of his body that hurt the most. Though the bruise around his throat was a close second. The doctor sat down on a stool and pulled it close, then carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked cloth from his foot before taking a look. The doctor's eyes filled with something akin to horror before he forced his expression to go neutral, but Naruto saw the look before he could hide it. It sent a pang of concern through his chest.

"Is it.. that bad?" he asked quietly.

"Well.." the doctor paused, "it's not great."

Naruto met Sasuke's eyes, then turned his attention back to his bloodied foot. "But it will heal ok, won't it?"

He nodded. "We're going to need to do some stitches and I'm going to give you some medication to help avoid an infection."

"And then it will be ok?"

He nodded again. "It should be fine, but you will need to be careful while the stitches are in."

Sasuke clenched his jaw tight. He couldn't help but feel like all of this was his fault, and it tormented him- everything that Naruto had been through, all that he suffered.. and Sasuke had done absolutely nothing for him. He didn't protect him- Naruto had been stabbed, brutalized.. assaulted, though he didn't know to what extent yet. He didn't even save him- Sai did. Some other man managed to do what Sasuke failed to, and he fucking hated himself for it.

Naruto noticed how aggravated the Uchiha suddenly became but chose not to comment. He didn't want to add fuel to the fire, and honestly he didn't really want his attention at the moment. He'd rather Sasuke distract himself for a while then to have to face the looks of longing and desire, quickly followed by looks of concern. He didn't want any of it. So, he let Sasuke sink into his own private thoughts without a word.

Once his foot was tended to, the doctor made his leave. Naruto asked to do the same, but he insisted that he stay in the hospital for at least a couple days. Naruto protested, but the doctor and Sasuke were both insistent and he finally backed down. But he still wasn't happy about it.

"Stop being stubborn, dobe" Sasuke said, pulling up a chair to Naruto's bedside as the doctor left.

"Don't tell me what to do, teme."

He sighed. "You're fucking impossible, you know that?"

"Part of my charm."

The two fell silent, but it didn't last long.

"Naruto.." Sasuke started slowly.

Oh, fuck. I know where this is going, the blonde thought. And he wasn't looking forward to it.

"I don't want to talk about it" he interrupted.

"What did Orochimaru do to you?" Sasuke asked, ignoring his comment.

Naruto flinched at the name as horrific images suddenly flooded his mind. "I said I don't want to fucking talk about it!!" he shouted.

"Naruto-"

"No."

"Please" Sasuke said softly, "just.. just talk to me. Please."

Naruto shook his head. He turned on his side and closed his eyes. "Just leave me alone, Sasuke."

The raven rose to his feet and stepped closer to the cot, gazing down at his distraught blonde. He reached out and gently brushed back golden locks to see his sun-kissed face, scarred and bruised. "I'm sorry, Naruto" he whispered. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

The blonde squeezed his eyes tight, trapping the tears inside. "Please" he whispered back, his voice cracking, "please.. just leave me alone."

Sasuke swallowed back his own pain, then finally gave in. "Yeah.. ok. I'll.. I'll be back in a little while."

Naruto said nothing. He waited until he heard footsteps cross the room and a door open and close, before finally freeing the tears he had been holding back since the moment he saw Sasuke. A broken sob tore through him, and he curled up tight around himself as the horror of the last 24 hours continued to torment his very fragile mind.. and nearly shattered sanity.

--

Tsunade arrived a few hours later to interrogate him about Orochimaru, and badger him about what happened. Her impatience with him shifted to full blown rage when she realized that he had absolutely no intention of answering her questions. "Naruto! This is not a request! You will tell me what took place in that hideout."

"No" he said blankly, "I won't."

The Hokage slammed her fist down on the counter, jostling the medical equipment that had been left there. She didn't seem the least bit perturbed by it, her focus still locked on the defiant blonde. "Do as you're told, brat!"

"Just leave me alone" he muttered. "I'm not interested in talking." He threw his head back and dropped his arm over his eyes, shutting her out from deep blues that often showed too much.

Tsunade took in a sharp breath when she saw the thick bruise around his neck. She leaned in closer to examine it and noticed a similar bruise on his wrist. "These bruises.." she reached out to gently run her fingers over the one on his wrist.

Naruto flinched violently. "Don't touch me!" he screamed, throwing his arm down to glare up at her.

Tsunade was thrown off by his sudden outburst, but her expression softened when she noticed something in his eyes. He's terrified, she realized. Absolutely terrified.

Naruto saw her pity as clear as day and turned away from it. He refused to say another word and refused to look at her again. Eventually, just like Sasuke, Tsunade got the hint and left. And just like before, as soon as the door closed behind her, Naruto could feel tears slipping down his face and falling out of sight.

--

Naruto sighed as he turned away from his cracked ceiling and the brilliant light shining into his apartment. He wasn't ready to face the day. Reality was difficult enough in the shadows- he didn't need to see it in the sharp brightness of an unforgiving sun. A light that would clearly show every judgmental look surrounding him, the bruises on his body, and the heavy, lost look in his eyes. He didn't want to see the pity illuminated in his teammates' faces, nor did he have any interest in seeing people go about their normal, happy lives.

Night. That's what he preferred now. It was easier to escape the memories and pretend that it was all just a horrible nightmare when it was night.

He closed his eyes, prepared to barricade himself in his apartment and ignore the day, when he suddenly heard a noise behind him. His eyes slammed open, and he jerked back to find that an intruder had leapt through his window and directly next to his bedside.

An intruder he was not thrilled to see standing in his apartment.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sasuke? You can't just break into my house."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Obviously I can."

"You know that's not what I meant."

Suddenly uncomfortable lying in his bed next to the Uchiha, Naruto got to his feet and took several steps back. He pointed towards his front door, then looked pointedly at his unwelcome house guest. "Get out."

Sasuke took a seat on the blonde's bed. "I'd rather stay."

"I don't care! Get out, Sasuke!"

"I'll make you a deal, Naruto" he patted the spot on the bed directly in front of him, "you sit down and tell me what happened, and then I will leave you alone for as long as you like."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, like I'm supposed to fucking trust you.."

"What makes you think you can't trust me?" he asked innocently.

"Are you kidding me? You mean like when you attacked me in the fucking woods? Or maybe the time you fucking jumped on top of me in the tent. Any of this ringing a bell, Sasuke?"

The raven dragged his fingers through his hair with a deep sigh. "Fair point" he admitted. "But I'd like to regain your trust.. if I ever had it to begin with. What better way to do that?"

"I don't believe you" Naruto growled. "As soon as I tell you anything, you'll just want more. And I don't.. I don't have anything to give you right now."

Obsidian eyes hardened. "I'm tired of talking in circles with you." He moved fast, grabbed Naruto's arm, and yanked him over to him. Naruto yelped as he pushed him down onto the bed, and the blonde quickly pushed himself up to face him.

Sasuke took a seat in front of him, his face smooth and blank- the picture of nonchalance, like he didn't just attack him. Naruto moved to get off the bed, but Sasuke just pulled him back down.

"You do realize I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me, right?"

Naruto scooted back to his headboard, keeping his distance from the Uchiha. He pulled his legs in and hugged them close. "Why do you even care..?" he murmured.

Sasuke glared over at him. "Are you really asking me that?" He shifted closer to the blonde, anger seeping in when he saw him stiffen. "Did I not make my feelings clear enough for you?"

Naruto pushed further back, suddenly nervous that the raven intended on making a move.

Sasuke reached out and lifted his chin, forcing their eyes to meet. "Naruto, I care about you. A lot." He swallowed. "It's my fault that Orochimaru went after you in the first place. He wanted to get back at me- you shouldn't have even been involved."

Naruto looked away. "Why can't you just let it go..?"

"I.. I don't know. Maybe the same reason I can't let you go."

Naruto bit his lip, despite the pain. He's not going to stop until you tell him. You might as well just get it over with.

He sighed. "He-"

Something slammed into Naruto's door, startling the two. Naruto's head shot up and he stared down the hall at the thin piece of wood separating him from whatever the hell had attacked it. "What the fuck was that?" He met Sasuke's eyes.

"Stay here."

Sasuke rose to his feet and Naruto joined him. The raven glared over at him, but the blonde just ignored him. It was his fucking house after all. He'd be the one to protect it, just as he had for all these years.

The two moved down the hall, and Sasuke stepped in front to grab the door handle before Naruto could. He activated his sharingan, then tore open the door. He looked around, but there wasn't a soul in sight. As he scanned their surroundings, he noticed something on the blonde's door.

Naruto noticed too and pushed past him to get a better look. A kunai was stabbed into the wood, pinning a piece of paper to it. Naruto stared at it, his stomach clenching into tight knots as he read the message scrawled across it.

We warned you, monster.

He stared at those four words, his mind spinning as he tried to make sense of it. What are they talking about? Warned me about what? Is this a threat?

They think I overstepped and what- they're letting me know that they're going to come after me..? But I can't think of anything that I did. I've been gone for days.

What could I have possibly-?

Blue eyes widened.

He knew exactly what this was.

Sasuke.

He carried me into the hospital, and the people there were NOT happy about it. This has to be from someone who saw. Someone who…

who told me to stay away from Sasuke.

He thought about the man who attacked him when he was a kid, when he had first attempted to befriend the raven. The man who convinced Sasuke to stay away from him by hurting him, tormenting him, in front of the terrified Uchiha.

Then.. does that mean they're after Sasuke too?

Naruto looked over at the raven. He was studying the note, his eyes still crimson and filled with blatant hatred. "Do you know who wrote this?" he ground out.

"I have a guess."

Sasuke met his eyes. "Who?"

Naruto pulled the kunai from his door and crumbled up the note before stepping back into his apartment. "What does it matter?" he tossed the paper in the trash then threw the kunai across the room, watching it impale the wall. "This isn't my first threat, Sasuke."

The Uchiha clenched his jaw. He grabbed the blonde and spun him around to face him. "But you know who wrote this one."

"Sasuke, I think it's best if you worry about yourself."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Naruto pulled out of his grasp. "That means that threat wasn't only directed at me" he said. "I think that was meant for you too."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "The warning.. it was about me staying away from you, wasn't it."

Naruto nodded. "I think so."

So this is my fault too, Sasuke thought.

"Fuck."

Author Note:

That's right- I'm back, baby!! I'm sorry for the long wait on this one. I had a bit of writers block that I was having a tough time working through. But I'm here and the writing is happening!

My plan is to finish this story & then go back to my other unfinished one- It's All In Your Head. So if you were reading that one, don't worry. It will continue again soon.

Thanks for your patience, my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy the rest of this one :)