Disclaimers: Naruto is not mine, sadly. This is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes non-consensual elements, strong language, violence, sexual content (yaoi), & angst.

Blind Sighted

Chapter 22: Worth the Wait

"I don't ask for the sights in front of me to change, only the depth of my seeing."

- Mary Oliver

--

Kakashi joined Naruto and Sasuke on their journey over to the Hokage building. He arched a brow when they took the long way to avoid town, but when he noticed Sasuke take Naruto's hand he got a clear idea of why that might be. The villagers had mixed feelings when it came to Naruto simply existing there.

I'm sure they wouldn't be too keen to the idea of the last Uchiha and the feared jinchuriki being a couple.

The thought frustrated him to no end, but he had lived in Konohagakure for a long time. He knew who these people were.

The Hidden Leaf was and has always been his home- he felt the utmost loyalty to it through and through. But there were many decisions made by the people who ran it that he absolutely did not agree with, and Kakashi wasn't one to go against his principles. Not anymore.

Loyalty was one thing.

Blind loyalty was another.

He would always protect the village, and do what was best for its people, but not at the expense of his people. They were part of the Leaf too and deserved to be just as much as anyone else. Kakashi stood by that fully. It was the reason he gave when he knocked out a villager who lashed out at Naruto for the mistakes a feral Nine Tails had made before he was even a part of him. And it was the reason he stood by his student's side and vouched for Sasuke so that he could return to them.

Kakashi had once thought the sacrifice of your closest for the sake of the masses was the right call. The village tried to convince him of this as they berated his father and drove him into ending his own life, and Kakashi was too young to understand it. He hated feeling like he had to choose a side, and he just didn't know how to feel unashamed of a man so scorned by everyone around them.

Experience helped him realize the error of his ways.

His father was not a monster for protecting his people. His ideals were questioned and ridiculed because it was so intensely driven into Anbu Black Ops that their lives and the lives of their loved ones are insignificant, and therefore should be easy to destroy if it benefited another. Kakashi got out while he still had some of his sanity left, but it was no easy feat. But some.. some weren't so lucky. Many stayed long enough to be used and broken beyond repair only to be tossed to the wolves.

Hell, look at what they did to Itachi.

Kakashi was pulled from his musings as they stepped out of the cold and into their large domed destination. He forced back his thoughts and planted on a smile as they drew closer to the Hokage's office. Things were already going to be tense- he didn't want to add to it.

Kakashi tilted his head as they approached the looming double doors. "Huh. I guess you can go in this way.."

Sasuke quirked a brow at him, and Naruto barked out a laugh. "Why do you only use windows?"

"The windows are the eyes of the soul, Naruto."

"That's not how that saying goes" Sasuke said.

Kakashi shrugged. "Guess I just like making an entrance."

Naruto laughed as he shook his head. "You're so weird."

"You're one to talk, dobe."

"Shut up, teme! Don't side with Kakashi!"

"Ok, well if you two are done flirting, I think Tsunade is ready for us."

Naruto's face flushed Sharingan red, but his teasing didn't seem to bother Sasuke this time around.

Kakashi offered a grin Naruto couldn't see, and Sasuke could only make out a fraction of, and pushed open the door.

--

"And you're sure" Naruto said for the fifty-seventh time.

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm the twitch that he always managed to give her and the migraine that was quick to follow. "I have already answered you a million times, brat. We captured and interrogated Kabuto's-"

Naruto flinched and Sasuke's eyes flared with rage.

Goddamnit- is she fucking blind too?!

Any moron can see how much it bothers Naruto to hear his name.

Sasuke chose not to think about the fact that he had also used his name recently, though that had been to make a point when Naruto had the audacity to compare him to that snake. He felt somewhat justified in that. Tsunade on the other hand- that was something she could avoid doing and just didn't. And it pissed him off.

"-cult members" Tsunade continued, seemingly ignorant of her visitors' reactions, "and we were able to pull information out of them." Her expression darkened. "Eventually."

Naruto swallowed.

He knew what the interrogations were like- it was why he had fought so desperately to keep that task force away from Sasuke when he came back to the village.

What they did to people.. that was no interrogation. It was torture. Horrific, brutal, invasive torture. Naruto had never experienced it for himself, thankfully, but he had interrupted a few he didn't agree with over the years and had seen enough to know what goes on in there. If they didn't break your body, they would break your mind- and if you were unlucky enough, sometimes it was both.

Sasuke knew that it bothered Naruto to think about what happened to the prisoners the Anbu captured, and even if he didn't you could tell with just one look at him now. All of the color had drained from his face, and his mouth was curled in revulsion.

Sasuke could still remember Naruto's panic when they tried to take him away three years ago. The Interrogative Task Force had faced a feral jinchuriki with five unleashed chakra tails, and a sixth growing. Scorched, screaming men struggled to escape what was left of the building Naruto had single-handedly destroyed, and Yamato had his work cut out for him when he finally managed to get close enough to try.

In the end, the elders decided to save their citizens and their homes from a fiery demise and let Sasuke stay under house-arrest until he was deemed trustworthy enough to interact with others freely. Naruto volunteered to keep an eye on him, which did not bother Sasuke in the least, but he lived close enough that they decided it wasn't necessary for them to live together.

That he had been disappointed by.

Hell, the only reason he came back to this godforsaken town instead of tearing it to shreds was because he wanted to be close to Naruto again.

While he wasn't happy that Naruto had suffered in his stead, he was glad that he finally had the chance he didn't get before- to live with Naruto, to reveal his true feelings and attempt to sway his.

And none of that would have been possible if the village elders had gotten their way and thrown Sasuke into a cell. In fact, he would probably have been tortured to death by now if it wasn't for Naruto. And he was sure Naruto was just as aware of that fact. Which was likely another reason why hearing about those cultists facing that horrid fate did not sit well with him.

Kabuto was one thing- that snake deserved nothing less than an excruciating end- but his followers?

Probably not.

"I never asked you to torture people" Naruto said quietly. He could taste sick in the back of his throat, could feel it coat his words and turn his expression.

Tsunade's eyes hardened. "When did I say torture?"

Naruto turned away, letting long blonde hair hide his disgust. "You didn't have to."

He wasn't wrong in his assumption, but that didn't mean Tsunade liked being accused of it. She wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect either, but.. well, there were times she did have to look the other way while her specialized Anbu forces took care of things. She wasn't proud of that fact, but she couldn't avoid it either. One of the many tough decisions she has had to make as the Hidden Leaf's Hokage- just as all of the leaders before her had.

"Did you want your sight back or not?" she snapped, irked by his judgement.

Naruto shook his head. "Not like this."

"Look, kid. I understand that you want everything to have a nice civil ending, but that's not life. Sometimes the end does justify the means."

"Tch. I'm sure you like to tell yourself that."

Tsunade slammed her fists against her desk. "The hell did you just say to me?!"

She stormed over to them but Sasuke, once again, grabbed Naruto and forced him behind him. And she wasn't surprised when Kakashi did the same thing in front of both of his students.

Ever the martyr, she thought wryly.

"Look, do you want the jutsu reversed or not?"

They all knew that he did, but it sat differently with him now that he knew what it cost to get it. Or rather- had a vague idea. Naruto was sure he wouldn't be able to stomach the details, let alone go through with this, if he really knew.

He didn't want to answer, but Tsunade wasn't leaving him with a choice.

"I.. I don't want to be blind.." he muttered.

"And now we have a way to fix that" the Hokage answered curtly.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at his dejected blonde. He wanted to make this easier on him, but it seemed like their leader was hellbent on doing the complete opposite. He turned his attention back to glare at her from over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Enough talk" he said loudly, forcing her to look his way instead. "Let's just reverse the jutsu and be done with it. We are not on your council- there is no need for us to hear about the rest of it. This is just a waste of time."

Kakashi could see the woman's temper rising once more and decided that it was time he play his role as peacemaker. As per usual when it came to this crowd.

"Let's just go over what the reversal will look like" he said, keeping his voice calm and nonthreatening. "What does Naruto need to do for this?"

Tsunade was tempted to ignore the jonin's attempt at distracting her and ream into the insolent brats a bit more, but in the end she decided it just wasn't worth it. They were always like this, and she was sure a few more heated words and bits of broken furniture weren't about to change that.

With a sigh she turned her attention back to Kakashi. "It turns out that one of the other scrolls they took was the way to reverse this one. They wanted to make sure we wouldn't be able to change it when they destroyed the Mangekyou in Sasuke's eyes."

Sasuke nodded. He was well aware that he was their intended target. It was why he felt so guilty. Why he wanted the damn thing reversed.

Well.. one of the reasons.

"The original jutsu that was used caused a surge of energy to travel through the brain stem and deep into the ocular nervous system, where it severed the nerves all at once. The pain Naruto felt was from the sudden destruction of his optics. It is not a precise surgical procedure- the nerves burst. That is what caused the immense bleeding in his eyes as well."

Sasuke's stomach rolled as he thought back to Naruto's screams, the way he clawed at his face as blood seeped from his eyes… it was awful.

And now he understood why.

"So how do we fix it?" Sasuke asked, wanting to keep their focus on a solution.

"The individual nerves have to be repaired and reconnected- which takes a lot more time and a very unique stream of chakra. The scroll gives us specifics on how to channel it, but we will need to keep healers on him as well. Naruto.. this is not a painless jutsu. Our healers will try their best to help but forcing nerve endings back together like this.."

"It's going to hurt" Naruto finished for her.

She nodded, which the blonde didn't see but he didn't have to.

"Is this really the only way?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't thrilled by the idea of Naruto being in even more pain because of this.

"I'm afraid so."

"Does this jutsu guarantee the full revival of his sight?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade nodded again. "Yes. Once this is done, his sight will be returned. And so will Kurama's."

Naruto chewed at his lip as he considered this. "How long does it take?" he asked.

The Hokage was quiet for a while, which was not a good sign.

"You're making me nervous, Granny" Naruto said, trying and failing to lighten the mood. "How long do I have to-"

"A couple hours."

"Hours?!" Sasuke took an angry step forward, eyes burning with rage. "Are you insane? You're going to torture him for hours?!"

"Sasuke-" Naruto tried to pull him back, but he wrenched his arm free and moved closer.

Kakashi threw out an arm to bar his way, though it did little to calm his fury. Luckily, Tsunade's anger had cooled so she was far less responsive to the Uchiha's.

"I'm healing him not torturing" she said smoothly. "You two are so quick to throw out that word.."

"Then use anesthesia" Sasuke grated out. "Let him sleep through it."

"It doesn't work that way."

"You can't expect him to do this!" Sasuke screamed. "He's already been fucking hurt enough- why can't you see that?!"

"Sasuke, stop!"

Naruto managed to find his arm and yank it hard enough to pull his attention back. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm fucking weak. I can take it."

"That doesn't mean you should have to!"

He grabbed Naruro's wrist hard, jerking him closer. He didn't care that he had an audience, didn't care that Naruto immediately looked embarrassed of it- he was done hiding how he feels. And he refused to look the other way while his person was forced to feel more pain.

"Naruto, think about it. If it were the elders in your shoes would they really make them go through this?"

Tsunade's eyes flared at that. "You think I want him to be in pain?!"

"I think that you found a solution and went with it without fucking considering anything else!" Sasuke shouted back.

Hazy blue eyes stared at him, utterly baffled. Naruto had never seen Sasuke lose his cool like this before. At least not out in public.

Though, I guess technically I didn't really see it this time either.

Naruto grabbed him by the shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Sasuke, it's ok."

Sasuke glared and his hand tightened on his wrist. "No. It's not."

Kakashi could see that this was going to get them no where and decide to once again intervene. "So then what do you suggest, Sasuke?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw as he eyed his blonde. "Find a way to numb him at least. You wouldn't make someone in surgery suffer through it. This is no different."

Tsunade sighed. She was not a fan of the Uchiha, but she knew that his heart was in the right place. And she had to admit that he made a good point.

"Alright" she said. "We'll hold off for now as we look further into this."

Naruto paled and jerked his head over to stare into the darkness towards her. "I don't want you hurting them for this" he said, his hazy eyes pleading.

Another sigh. "You're really ok with this?" She shot a sour look Sasuke's way. "You don't have to wait just because your boyfriend says so."

Naruto choked and Sasuke patted his back as crimson slowly bled into his eyes. He was very close to losing control.

Kakashi eyed the two and gave a twinkling smile- again, hoping to ease the tension. "I didn't know it was official. Mazel tov!"

Sasuke's sharingan was dangerously close. He was beyond done with this conversation. "Tell us when you figure things out" he growled. Then he grabbed his blonde and dragged him out of Tsunade's office, slamming the door behind him.

The Hokage glared after them, but she didn't have the energy to do much else. Consumed by exhaustion, Tsunade walked back to her desk and returned to her chair. "Has he always been like that?"

Kakashi tilted his head, his practiced smile locked in place. "I'd say he gets a little more Sasuke every day."

"Oh goodie."

The jonin shrugged. "Naruto doesn't seem to mind."

"How lucky for him."

Kakashi paused. "You know he's right" he said quietly.

Tsunade dropped her eyes to her cluttered desk. "I know."

"Do you really plan on leaving the prisoners be?" he asked, knowing that he was pushing his luck. Though Tsunade was typically far more willing to share information with Kakashi than she was with most. She trusted the man implicitly, and he knew that. Which was why he was comfortable asking in the first place.

"It's what Naruto wants" she replied. "He's the one who will have to stay like this if we can't find answers without them."

"I have a feeling he's willing to wait a while longer."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Really? And why is that?"

The jonin gave an impish, mostly concealed, grin. "I'll bet Sasuke has something to do with that."

Tsunade shook her head, a tired laugh slipping from her lips. "They're an interesting match up, don't you think?"

Kakashi smiled, a real smile this time. One that only ever belonged to his most precious students.. and his long-lost love.

"No" he said quietly. "I've expected this for quite some time."

His hand moved up to his covered eye, his exposed one flickering with a hidden pain. Tsunade looked away.

"Naruto is a lot like I was at that age" Kakashi murmured.

He felt himself being pulled away as a memory came to mind- of a laugh, light and mischievous, and a silly brunette who had somehow managed to force his way into his life.. into his heart.

"..Sometimes it just takes longer to see what's right in front of you."

"Ironic how being blind helped him do that" Tsunade added.

"But he saw it" Kakashi said quietly.

He let his hand fall back to his side, his heavy gaze along with it.

"Before it was too late."

Author Note:

Hello, darlings. I want to apologize for this chapter. I don't feel like it's my best writing, far from it actually. I tried to revise it like a hundred times but couldn't seem to make it any better.

Thank you for reading it despite that. I will do what I can to improve in the next one. I promise.

I really appreciate all of you for sticking with this story so far, and an extra thank you to all of the lovelies who comment along the way. I love hearing your thoughts and I really appreciate you taking the time to share them. It really does mean the world to me.

Alright. Time to get my shit together and write something good! :)