Author's note: Apologies for the shorter chapter. My youngest cat had a severe health crisis yesterday and I'm still getting over the anxiety I experienced while waiting for her to pull through. Other updates should follow this weekend.

Thanks to the following reviewers: solitare1; Weebio; Guest; Iraheta 127; Guest; 666snoopy

Warnings: Drama; the story will significantly deviate from The Long Run for a while now

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 25

Itachi's gaze met Sasuke's through the rearview mirror and Sasuke grimaced slightly. How exactly was he going to tell Naruto that he had been sent to that town in order to die? Because it was extremely unlikely that Danzo had expected Naruto to survive. At the same time they didn't have official confirmation yet that Danzo had been behind this, but if he hadn't been the one, who had? Only the Board had the authority to send people on runs and out of all the members only Danzo had had a problem with Naruto. It stood to reason then that he was the one responsible for all of this.

"You were sent there because you pissed off the wrong person," Sasori stated bluntly.

"Sasori-san," Itachi sighed, but the red haired man simply snorted.

"What? No sense in beating around the bush about it," Sasori scoffed. "It's not like we can still afford doing that."

"I pissed off the wrong person?" Naruto echoed incredulously; his eyes shooting between the three other men. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"We don't have any concrete proof yet, so this is just our suspicion," Sasuke cautioned and blue eyes swivelled towards him. "But we believe that Danzo sent you to this town on purpose. Only members of the Board have the authority to send people on runs and everyone of the Board knew that this place had become off limits."

"Danzo – that old fart? What the fuck did I do to him?" Naruto asked baffled. Realisation had his eyes almost bugging out. "Wait, is this about the fact that I ignored them when Gaara and I went after you?"

"Most likely, yes," Itachi answered calmly, but his eyes were hard as steel.

Naruto waved his hand as if he wanted to slash something with it. "So let me get this straight: all because I apparently hurt that douchebag's pride, he sent me to that shit town to die? What about Tobi then? What the fuck did he do to him?" he demanded furiously.

"Collateral damage probably," Sasori murmured. "He would have wanted to make the run seem legit and most runs are typically done with at least two people."

Speechlessly Naruto sagged back in his seat.

"I'm sorry," Itachi said quietly and rubbed over his forehead. "I know it won't mean much or anything to you now, but know that the rest of the Board would not have agreed with Danzo's plan. There is no way anyone knew about this. If they had, they would have never let you or Tobi-san go."

"So what's going to happen now?" Naruto asked tiredly, rubbing his injured thigh.

"Finding you was our first priority," Itachi replied. "Once we're back, father will most likely investigate to get actual proof that Danzo's behind this."

"An investigation, huh? That sounds fair – fairer than how Danzo treated me and Tobi," Naruto smiled mirthlessly.

They could only concur in silence and Sasuke wordlessly took Naruto's hand, clasping it between the both of his. No matter what, Danzo would be punished. What he had done could never be forgiven or forgotten.

He met his brother's gaze through the rearview mirror before relaxing into his seat. Yes, Danzo would be punished, but for now all that mattered was that he had Naruto back, alive and whole.

The moment they all piled out of the car, revealing they had only returned with four instead of the expected five people, father's face instantly changed from relief to resignation. For a couple of seconds he closed his eyes, murmuring something soundlessly to himself before he marched over to the car to greet them.

"It's best if you get yourself checked over by Tsunade-sama," he instructed Naruto when he noticed the injuries.

Naruto heaved a sigh but nodded acquiescently. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't need to tell me, your son here will no doubt haunt my arse if I don't go see her," he mumbled. Despite his exasperated tone, though, he leant heavily into Sasuke's side, belying the amount of pain he must be experiencing right now.

A smile flitted across father's face for a brief moment. "He's right to be concerned, though. Go on now, we'll take care of the car in the meantime."

"I'm going to get a whole slew of questions later on, huh?" Naruto muttered resigned while he hobbled alongside Sasuke, keeping a firm hold of his arm to steady himself.

Sasuke couldn't deny it. "If you want me to, I can hold him off for a while," he suggested instead. No doubt father would understand that Naruto wasn't exactly in the mood to discuss yet what had happened to him and Tobi in that town.

"Don't bother with it," Naruto mumbled, paying no mind to the stares he was receiving.

It was getting quite late, dusk having made way for evening a while ago, but there were still people walking around. Their stares turned from curious to assessing, attempting to figure out how severe the injuries were. Once they ascertained that it didn't look as if Naruto was going to keel over and die any second now, they turned away; their interest lost.

"Telling him today still or tomorrow, it won't make any difference."

"You need to rest, though," Sasuke urged. He didn't want this to turn into a fight, but he wasn't willing to let this go completely either.

"There's nothing that says I can't rest after our conversation," Naruto replied laconically.

Light still shone through the windows of the infirmary, indicating at least one person was still present. Instead of Tsunade, however, Deidare was the one to greet them. Without any warning at all he slung his arm around Naruto's shoulders, dragging him into an awkward embrace. At the unexpected touch Sasuke felt Naruto stiffen up and the spooked look on his face would have been amusing if it wasn't rather depressing to consider that Naruto probably didn't even know how to expect hugs from other people anymore.

"Erm, what are you doing?" Naruto asked cautiously, eyeing Deidara not unlike one would eye a snarling dog.

His hand tightened around Sasuke's arm, but Sasuke had no idea whether Naruto was even aware he was doing that.

Naruto's question had Deidara chuckling sheepishly and he loosened the awkward hug. "Sorry about that, un. I'm just really relieved to see you back after I heard where you had been sent to."

"You stayed here the entire time?" Sasuke inquired bewildered.

"Not the entire time," Deidara denied and jerked his thumb backwards to gesture at Tsunade who came bustling out of one of the rooms, her lips thin and her eyes sharp. "She'd have kicked my butt if I had stayed here the whole time, un."

"You can bet I would have," Tsunade said calmly. "Now you've seen for yourself that he's still alive and in one piece, so please get the hell out of here before I do decide that some arse-kicking is in order tonight. And you know full well I'm not bluffing."

Deidara lifted his remaining hand quickly in a gesture of peace. "I'm leaving already, okay! No need to kick anyone's butt, un."

"You come with me; let me take a look at you," she addressed Naruto next, studying the way he leant on Sasuke critically. "You look like a right mess."

"Thanks for that; you always know how to flatter a guy, baa-chan," Naruto chuckled mirthlessly.

"Sure I do, can't have you getting an inflated ego, though," she quipped back but her brown eyes shone with concern. "How long have you been bleeding?"

"Mah, guess not that long," Naruto muttered and limped over to the examination table; Tsunade easily taking over his weight and guiding him there. "It had stopped bleeding earlier, but then that bitch decided it was time to show off her manicure skills and she tore it open again. Sasuke fixed me up in the car, though."

"Of course he did," she said easily and helped him sit on the examination table. "I'm still going to examine your injuries, though, just in case."

"Tobi?" Deidara whispered, pausing next to Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head once. "Dead," he murmured.

Deidara sighed quietly and nodded. He clasped Sasuke's shoulder, squeezing it gently, before leaving the infirmary, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sasuke went to Naruto, watching him wiggle out of his jeans until the trousers ended up pushed to his knees, allowing the doctor to take a better look at his thigh. She hummed contemplatively while examining the cut after she removed the bandage.

"You did pretty well, treating it," she mumbled as if talking to herself.

Naruto flashed him a quick grin and squeezed Sasuke's forearm. "Of course he did; he makes for a pretty amazing nurse," he teased.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in response. "I just made do with what I had. It's not like I could stitch him up, but I had to stop the bleeding."

"The cut was indeed re-opened, but you got lucky," she observed and turned around, aiming for one of the drawers behind her desk. "It's not deep enough to require stitches. Infection might still become an issue, though, so you need to watch out for that. You also shouldn't exert yourself too much in the upcoming week, but you're not in any danger of dying any time soon. If you follow my advice at least."

"See, told you there wasn't any need to fuss," Naruto commented, quirking an eyebrow at Sasuke.

He merely stared back unimpressed. "If you would stay out of trouble just once, I wouldn't have to fuss," he shot back.

She exchanged the bandage with a fresh one. "Did you hit your head or lose consciousness at any point?" she questioned, all business again. As she watched him lift up his hips, pulling the jeans back up, she pursed her lips when she noticed the tear in his shirt.

"Oh, if only," Naruto smiled humourlessly, wincing slightly when the jeans dragged across his sensitive skin. "I didn't have that luck. Fully conscious the entire time while wishing I wasn't."

"Looks like your face wasn't spared either," she remarked neutrally, carefully turning his head from left to right while examining the blooming bruises.

Naruto immediately scowled and his fingers tightened around the edge of the table, digging into it as if they were claws. "That fucker got a few hits in, but I've had worse."

"That isn't as reassuring as you think it is," she replied dryly. She gestured at his stomach. "Got nicked there as well?"

"Hm, this nothing but a scratch," he answered. "Sasuke already looked at it and took care of it."

She lifted an eyebrow when she glanced at Sasuke. "So do I need to take another look at it or is it indeed not serious at all like he's implying?"

Ignoring Naruto's highly offended, "Hey, who the hell do you think is the patient here, huh? I can speak for myself just fine, thanks!", Sasuke replied, "It's just a shallow cut. It wasn't deep enough to do actual serious damage. I disinfected it, but you're welcome to take another look at it if you want to be sure."

"Or here's a novel idea: you can believe me when I say it's fine, but hey, what the fuck do I know, hm?" Naruto interjected sarcastically. "It's not like I'm actually the patient."

She clucked her tongue exasperatedly and took them both by surprise when she pinched the tip of Naruto's nose, turning him cross-eyed in response before swatting her hand away. "What the hell was that for, baa-chan?" he whined and rubbed over his nose.

"Don't think I haven't figured out by now that you have this annoying habit of downplaying your injuries, you infuriating brat. I know I can trust Uchiha to tell me the truth if only because he cares about your stupid arse," she snarked. "That's the reason why I asked him, because you're the type of idiot whose bowels could be dripping out of his stomach and you'd still go around, claiming everything's peachy!"

"I wouldn't actually go that far," Naruto said after a short pause.

"No, she's right," Sasuke agreed with the doctor.

"Hey, whose damn side are you on even?!"

"The side that's called common sense," Tsunade said without mercy. "Any other injuries you're stupid enough to keep a secret?"

"If I had those, don't you think Sasuke would have found them already?" Naruto rolled his eyes and huffed, puffing out his cheeks. "Guy's even more of an overbearing nut than you are, you old hag."

Her right eye twitched vaguely and the smile she gave him was both forced and dangerous. "Call me that again and I don't give a flying fuck that you're injured, I will wipe the floor with you, you damn brat."

"Oh? I'd like to s-hmph!"

Paying no attention to Naruto's outraged look or the way his hands scrambled at Sasuke's wrist to free himself, Sasuke kept his hand clamped over Naruto's mouth, silencing the idiot before his apparent death wish got fulfilled.

"Don't pay him any mind, he's hand a long day," Sasuke said as an excuse and pinched Naruto's non-injured side in warning. "His mouth has a tendency to run quicker than his brain then."

"Uhuh," she said, clearly not believing him at all, but willing to let it go all the same. Thank god for that.

"Does he need regular check-ups for his thigh?" Sasuke inquired next and then glowered, snatching his hand away when a tongue swiped wetly across his palm, dragging from one side to the other. "What the fuck, Naruto? Are you a kid? How old are you?"

"That's your punishment for trying to silence me during non-sexy times," Naruto told him cheerfully, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You sure you didn't hit your head?" Sasuke demanded and moved to check the back of Naruto's skull, because surely only a hit to his head could explain his current childish streak.

Naruto leant away abruptly, preventing Sasuke from checking his head. "Yep, a full hundred percent sure. Sadly they didn't want to give me that reprieve from their insanity," he retorted lightly.

Tsunade shook her head in the meantime, electing to answer Sasuke's question instead of commenting on the scene. "No, they aren't necessary unless the cut becomes infected," she replied and crossed her arms underneath her bosom, casting a quick glance at Naruto's thigh. "Check the cut every day to make sure it doesn't become infect and change the bandages regularly. The second he starts exhibiting symptoms of a fever or anything else that might be an indication of an infection, you have to call me immediately. Last thing we need is another person losing a limb."

"Let's just ignore the fact that I've spent the last couple of years on the road, taking care of myself just fine," Naruto mumbled petulantly.

They both decided to ignore him.

"I'll give you a bottle of disinfectant and a stack of bandages," Tsunade went on and went over to her desk to riffle through one of the drawers this time. "What you don't use, you can just bring back."

"Sounds good, thanks," Sasuke said and glanced down when fingers tangled with his own.

"Told you I'm okay," Naruto remarked, but his voice was soft this time, non-confrontational.

"Yes well, it's always good to have an actual professional check everything," Sasuke sighed.

Blue eyes gleaming had him quirking an eyebrow. "I don't know, you seemed pretty professional to me back in the car when you were taking care of me," Naruto drawled and squeezed Sasuke's fingers. "Going to be my private nurse?" He fluttered his eyelashes in a ridiculous manner, making Sasuke snort in response.

"Are you going to behave if I am?"

"That all depends entirely on what you mean with behaving," Naruto grinned roguishly. He squawked when a package of bandages was unceremoniously smacked into his chest.

"Please, for the love of all that's holy and the sake of my sanity, keep your bedroom talk far away from my infirmary," Tsunade demanded pained.

Naruto grinned at her; his eyes glittering with devilish intent. "Just because some of us here aren't getting any doesn't mean that the rest of us are in the same boat, baa-chan."

"You truly have amazing self-preservation skills," she droned and flicked his ear in punishment.

"I know," he grinned even harder, tapping his free fingers against the edge of the table. "It's what kept me alive so far."

When the door opened, they turned their heads simultaneously. Sasuke cocked his head to the right when father entered the infirmary, looking quite grim. He was alone.

"Is it safe to assume you're here for me?" Naruto asked. He appeared still quite relaxed, but the humour was abruptly drained from his face, leaving him weary looking.

"If you're feeling up to it," Father replied and stopped in front of them. "If you're not, I'd understand. We can talk at a later moment then."

He earnt an eye-roll for that. "Give me a break, there's no need to start treating me with kiddie gloves all of a sudden," Naruto snorted harshly; a hint of contempt filtering through. "I've been through worse shit than this, trust me."

"That's not," Father began to argue, but one look at Sasuke who was shaking his head had him sighing instead, aborting the remark in favour of asking, "Do you mind if I accompany you to your apartment? That way you can get settled and get some rest so that you won't have to cross half the compound with your leg later on."

"It's just a bloody cut; it doesn't make me an invalid," Naruto complained, but pushed himself off the examination table, testing his weight on his injured leg. Nodding to himself, he looked at father. "But okay, whatever. Let's go then. Anyone else of the Board going to be there?"

Nobody missed his sneer.

Something unreadable flashed up in father's eyes. "No, just me. The Board doesn't usually gather for conversations like this one."

"No, I guess not, not unless one of them got their knickers twisted, hm?" Naruto snorted again before his eyes flitted towards Sasuke. "You joining me?"

Somewhat surprised at the question, but very pleased with it nonetheless, Sasuke smiled faintly and nodded. "Yeah, I'll join you if you don't mind."

"Wouldn't have asked it if I did."

Their hands found each other again on their way to the door; their fingers tangling together.

When they entered the apartment, Naruto started making his way to the couch before he made an abrupt beeline for the table. Sasuke was confused at first until he remembered that Gaara had left a note behind. Right, fuck, he had nearly forgotten about that.

Naruto picked up the note and read it. Right when father closed the door, he asked, "What's the time?"

"Hm?" Sasuke was taken aback by the odd question, but father took his watch out of his pocket and glanced at it.

"Almost nine thirty, why?"

Naruto smacking the note back on the table had both Uchiha jumping in surprise. "Gaara's in trouble," Naruto said curtly and started limping to the bedroom.

"Trouble, why do you think that?" Sasuke asked baffled and snatched up the note again, giving it another read. He couldn't immediately spot anything that would indicate that –

"He should have been back already and he isn't," Naruto replied, sounding harried. It sounded as if he was moving things around in the bedroom.

"He could be held up or decided to set up camp on the way back," Sasuke argued but the uneasy feeling he had felt earlier when reading Gaara's note reared up again.

Naruto appeared in the doorway again and agitatedly explained, "No, he isn't. After all the shit we went through, we made several promises to each other, one being that we will always be back by the time we say we're back. No exceptions. He wouldn't say he'll be back by seven and then decide to set up camp somewhere. If he isn't here, it means he's in deep shit."

"Wait, where did Gaara-san go to?" Father asked puzzled.

Sasuke's bad feeling only increased and he turned to look at father. "Wasn't a reconnaissance trip scheduled for some village in the south?" he asked; his heart started to beat quicker, getting louder in his ears.

"What? No, we didn't discuss any trips to any village in the south," Father answered perplexed and took the note to read it himself. He started shaking his head almost immediately. "Nobody called in sick. There was no trip scheduled. Even if there was, why would we send Gaara-san on his own? You know we always send at least two people for such trips."

If father wasn't aware of a trip scheduled and nobody had called in sick, that meant that –

"I should have fucking known something was wrong the second you told me that that old douchebag's behind this bullshit!" Naruto spat and dumped a bag onto the table before hurrying over to the couch where he pushed one of he pillows aside, picking up something.

When he went over to the table again and slapped it down, Sasuke realised it was a map.

"Gaara was with me when I went after you all! Of course he would be targeted too, how couldn't you have thought of this sooner?!" Naruto snipped frustrated, opening the map with rough movements.

"I didn't think about that, okay!" Sasuke shot back frustrated, marching over to the table. "I had just found out that you were sent to that town and all I could think of was bringing you back. I didn't stop to think that Gaara might also be in trouble."

"Might?" Naruto echoed scornfully, bending over the map.

"You told him about our suspicion?" Father asked, coming to stand in front of the table as well.

"Naruto asked. I couldn't lie," Sasuke answered and looked at the map, though he couldn't immediately tell what Naruto was looking for. "What are you looking at?"

"We always draw maps if we leave on our own," Naruto muttered and his finger started tracing over the map. "I think it's safe to assume that that fucker didn't think Gaara would take the time to draw the map." He tapped at a spot on the map. "He's talking about this village here. Looks like it can be reached in less than an hour if we push the car to the limit, so let's go."

"Let's go?" Sasuke repeated incredulously. "You're not going anywhere, you're injured! You can't go running around with that leg, do you want to tear it open again? Give us the map, we'll go after him and bring him back."

The deadly calm look Naruto gifted him with sent shivers down his spine. Resting his hand on the bag, Naruto said, "I give you two choices, Sasuke. Either I go with you to rescue my best friend or you leave me behind, I go after Danzo and kill him now and then I'll still follow right behind you. Either way you're not leaving me behind. It's up to you how bloody things will get before I follow you."

He leant forwards; his blue eyes colder than ice. "Your choice. What's it going to be?"

AN2: Prepare for some major shit, guys. Also, no, Naruto does not play around.

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.