Drafted chapter 34: Mission (Almost) Impossible II

Pairing: Naru/Sasu.

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: "Naruto', don't own it; not mine. I just borrow Masashi's characters and replace them in naughty positions, and I mean really naughty positions.

Summary: Sequel to "Summer Camp". "Let me assure you, your days will be long and your nights will be bitter, you will be fucked with, run ragged, razed and broken; I can also assure you that there are going to be time when you feel like it's too much but trust me, power through it and it will be the most rewarding thing you will ever achieve." That was the greeting Sasuke got. Trying to adjust to new friends and even newer enemies while adjusting to Naruto miles away, the only option is to survive.

Song: "Heavy" from Linkin' Park.

UN-BETA'D

Previously:

The room was stifling, as the air was being slowly sucked out just as Kabuto had promised. The vial of poison was sitting innocently on the desk but Sasuke would rather die than give the satisfaction of his death to these fuckers.

Naruto was slumped on his shoulder, the blond weakened from hours of dehydration and the tests that Kabuto and Hidan had run on him. His breathing had been tempered to take in as much as he needed to survive.

"S'uke…baby." Naruto's voice was faint. "Look at me…"

Black eyes closed as guilt slashed through Sasuke's chest. He felt like the worst scum on the earth as he was the reason the love of his life was suffering but he forced himself to look. the anguish, the haunted look of residual pain and agony were in the orbs and he blamed himself even harder. Naruto was in unspeakable pain and agony shown by his dull eyes but Sasuke believed there was an underlying, indomitable strength to them.

"I know you Sas'ke," Naruto's voice was hoarse, "You're obsessing about how stupid and selfish you were. You're thinkin' how if you'd never agreed to this I- we- wouldn't be trapped in this hellhole and suffering. You're beating yourself up to see me like this, ain'tcha?"

Sasuke bit his lip and bowed his head, wasn't there anything more obvious?

"But listen to me, Sasuke," Naruto's voice had gotten stronger, "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't agreed to it. I wanted to see these assholes suffer for what they did to you. Don't blame yourself for my choice baby."

"Don't listen to him Uchiha," Hidan's malicious voice came from the speaker, "It is all your fault."

Ignoring him, Sasuke twisted his face to Naruto and there in the midst of pale blue he saw the fiercest determination he had ever beheld in his lover's eyes. The Uzumaki then leaned closer, and closer like he was about to kiss Sasuke's neck but titled his mouth up, "Sasuke, Hidan is alone, when the doors open rip out the garrote wire and strangle him."

He then moved up further, tangled his hand in Sasuke's matted hair and kissed him hard. It was as if Naruto was trying to tell him of his pain, his desperation, his agony and love. It dug deep into Sasuke's soul.

"Wait what do you mean when the door opens?

Naruto kissed him once more, darted up faster than Sasuke could believe, grabbed the poison and drank it whole.

"NOOOO!" Sasuke screamed.

Presently:

Darting up Sasuke pushed his exhausted body to run to Naruto who had just stumbled and grabbed at the nearest hard surface. He grabbed at his boyfriend while his mind was still screaming. Naruto's head lolled back and Sasuke saw pupils widening at an exponential rate, they got so wide they almost eclipsed the blue of his irises.

"When he comes...kill him," Naruto said before he slumped to the ground lifeless.

"NO!" Sasuke screamed while shaking the body in denial, "No, Naruto, come back to me! You can't die! You CAN'T DIE!"

"Oh, so that's the Naruto who almost died for you, Uchiha." Hidan's nasty voice slithered through the intercom with a sadistic chuckle. "Well, he might had escaped death once but not this time."

The blonde's body was getting pale and grey and Sasuke, for the first time in his life, felt real, soul shaking, mind-numbing, blood-chilling panic. He saw a life of loneliness flash by his eyes, he saw himself dying of grief, and misery, he saw himself getting bitter and angry and hopeless and suicidal.

His adrenaline stopped the tears from falling but his eyes were stinging so hard he saw doubles. Pressing his fingertips to his lover's pulse point Sasuke felt the faint throb once… twice… then nothing. Nothing... nothing… and more nothing. Sasuke yanked his hand back and curled his fingers into a fist.

Naruto was dead.

Sasuke felt his life die with him, there was nothing to life for again, was there? Kill him Naruto had said, and goddamn it, he was going to honor his last words. Hunching over Naruto, the plan knitted itself together in his mind. He tugged the insensate body up to hug it close to his chest and buried his face in the cold neck.

Then a rush of sweet, fresh air filled the room and Sasuke knew Hidan was coming. Using Naruto's body as a shield, Sasuke secretly undid the latch in his watch and spooled out the garrotte wire. His mind was so hardened that he wanted to see blood run like fucking river. He wanted Hidan's head on a plate. Fury coiled into his stomach so tightly that Sasuke felt it birth an insanity that crept into his mind.

The door opened but Sasuke did not move, he sat there rocking the body until Hidan came closer. His senses were so attuned Sasuke could hear the very breaths Hidan took and his footsteps sounded like a localized earthquake.

"Looks like sonny boy has some sense of loyalty," Hidan jeered, "But for you, a fuck up piece of shit, I have no fucking clue why. You not worth it Uchiha."

Sasuke's blood boiled and he waited…one second…two…three. Hidan was so near, as he flicked his coat away and knelt down to check Naruto's pulse. Sasuke reacted and then lurched himself forward. The blitz attack took Hidan by surprise but he reacted and defended himself. He struggled and landed a punch into Sasuke's jaw but the Uchiha was so hyped on the rush that he didn't feel it. The wrestle match forced Sasuke to improvise and allowed Hidan to get some punches in so he could fall back. Hidan, thinking he had won, stood and spat on the floor,

"You little shit. You can't win here Uchiha, it about time you fall off your fucking high horse."

Crunching away, Sasuke waited until Hidan had turned away before he launched himself up and wrapped the garrote wire around Hidan's neck and pulled tight. Blood was running down Sasuke's busted eyebrow and lip but he didn't care. Half blind, Sasuke yanked the wire so hard that the strangled choke he heard from Hidan did not even register. All he could think of was Die motherfucker, die. The blood running from Hidan's neck did alert him though and when Sasuke realized that the wire had not only strangled Hidan but had cut though his carotid artery and killed him instantly, stepped back and let the bloody body drop to his feet.

Blood was on his fingers and his palms but Sasuke didn't care. Looking at the warm fluid bubbling up from the man's neck, Sasuke felt his blood lust calm. Returning the favor, Sasuke spat bloody spittle on the man and kicked him for good measure.

Turning back, reality slammed into Sasuke, Naruto's body was laying there as dead as ever. Sinking to his knees Sasuke took him back up and buried his face in a faded t-shirt. "I'm sorry. I am so fucking sorry, Na-nar-ruto…I am so-"

Then something miraculous happened- a previous unresponsive chest moved… slowly but it did. Frightened, Sasuke pressed his fingertips to a pale neck and felt a pulse!

A FAINT PULSE! NARUTO WAS ALIVE! Barely alive, but ALIVE!

Relief and happiness surged into Sasuke's system, he needed to get Naruto out of here but how? He was so weak that there was no way he could manage Naruto over that rope bridge where he had nearly collapsed over.

Running a hand though his hair, Sasuke felt a loss just as time was ticking away….

The Kenko Clinic.

Kabuto had just added the last eye drop to his damaged eye and blinked. His permanent myopia was still there but at least there was not much damage from the glass splintering into his eye. Blinking the solution away, Kabuto rummaged in his locker for one of his replacement glasses and donned it.

Just as he had secured the spectacles on his face, his phone pinged. Grabbing the cell, he saw a video feed. It was an automated one that he had put in place in case there was an emergency at the mountain temple and what he saw made rage fly into his system. Hidan was dead with blood pooling on the ground under him. the Uchiha was over to his blond boyfriend and Kabuto yelled out "FUCK!"

Switching the feed off Kabuto called, "Zetsu, get me the rest of Akatsuki- we have an Uchiha to kill."

Previously. Seemingly Abandoned shack Keya Beach

The frantic honks of horns sent tremors of anticipation through the group that was primed and ready to go.

"MOVE OUT!" Nagato yelled an armoured truck sped into the front yard of the shack, "Neji, TenTen, Kin, Apha Team, you're with me in the truck."

Then they heard the chopping rotations of a helicopter and Ryuu yelled, "Gaara, Kiba, Shikamaru you're with me in the chopper. Let's move! Let's get our boys alive!"

The armored truck was barreling down the road to Mt. Tateish, they were taking the same route that Konan had taken and the ETA to the temple was five minutes. Nagato was praying to every deity on earth that Sasuke and Naruto were okay.

"Please don't so anything stupid, Uchiha," Nagato prayed. "Please, don't let me find you dead."

Glancing up, Nagato saw the chopper flying a few miles ahead of them, the wicked blades of the military grade helicopter slicing through the air was a continuous blur in the sky. Looking around to see the grim faces of Neji, TenTen, and Kin.

The latter was one he knew was counting on him for help. That evening just before Shikamaru had given him the first piece of the puzzle to seal HYDRA's fate.

Kin waited till the younger agent was out of earshot and faced Nagato, "… Are we still on?"

Nagato nodded, "I'm putting the steps in place, don't worry. It'll work out."

In the same moment she looked up to him and with a steely determination she nodded. He repaid the nod. Turning away, Nagato hoped beyond hope that he would find his boys in good condition.

The Temple

Sasuke had managed to haul Naruto out into the front room and had gotten him propped up on the side of the fold out bed. He was ransacking the room, looking for something, anything that would help. He threw away packets of insulin, generic painkiller, bandages, needles, bottles of morphine, and was in despair when he finally came up a bottle of saline solution.

"Fuck yes!"

A saline drip would rehydrate Naruto and possibly push out some of the mélange of toxins inside him but there was no time to set up an IV drip or even use a hypodermic needle. Running over to Naruto, Sasuke sidestepped Konan's body and titled Naruto's head back enough to open his mouth. With the orifice open Sasuke gently poured some of the liquid inside his mouth, using one hand to balance the bottle while using the other to massage his throat so he could swallow.

Slowly, very slowly, Sasuke managed to get the whole bottle of the solution down and prayed something would happen. Dark brown eyelashes fluttered for a moment but didn't open. However, the pulse was getting a little stronger.

Once again, Sasuke was dismayed- he had to get Naruto out of the place but he did not know if he could handle the crossing as weak and terrified as he was. But he had to try. Going back to the cabinet, Sasuke found a bag and dropped as much saline solutions he could find into it. A part of his mind told him that he could do well with some but Sasuke was resolute- it was all for Naruto, no matter what happened.

Then he heard he hear the dull hum of helicopter blades that grew stronger with every moment and Sasuke sighed in relief, "Nagato, about time."

He stood still as the chopper drew near but he realized there was no space for it to land. The temple was on the apex of a mountain, the was only rock around him.

"Fuck!" Sasuke swore.

Then just as he was considering what to do, a body broke through the flimsy roof and dropped to the floor. Sasuke had never been so glad to see Neji in all his life.

"Neji!"

The Hyuuga took one all-encompassing look around before zeroing on Sasuke. Then his gaze flitted to Naruto. "Is he...?"

"Nearly," Sasuke said, "Long fucking sto- wait, why is the chopper leaving?"

"He has to find proper ground to land, there is nothing up here but rock." Neji said while approaching him and the Uzumaki. Kneeling, Neji tried Naruto's pulse and went grim. Lifting his wrist to his mouth, Neji spoke, "We need a stretcher board, Ryuu. Naruto's out."

"…Goddamn it! Five minutes," Ryuu's staticky voice said, "We'll be there with board and the chopper will circle back."

"We don't have five fucking minutes!" Sasuke snapped but it was too late the chopper was gone.

Neji did not move from Naruto's side as Sasuke took to pacing the room. His grey eyes lit up Konan, "What happened to her?"

"She tried to defend me and Naruto," Sasuke grimaced, "They knocked her out with a tranq dart."

The longest five minutes of Sasuke's life passed when, with relief, he heard the chopper's rotation come back.

"Hyuuga." Ryuu said through the relay system on Neji's wrist, "Get him to any clear spot you can, the board will come down and you need to strap him up."

Gritting his teeth Sasuke scanned for the only clear place he could remember seeing- it was the rope bridge. "We need to get him out there."

Not explaining what he meant, Sasuke looped his arm around Naruto's back while Neji did the same. The blond was heavy- all the packed muscle and height- but the two managed to get him out of the room and into the hallway. They hustled down it, and burst into to waning sunlight. The bridge looked even scarier in the dark and the rushing water underneath was no comfort to Sasuke but he needed to get Naruto some medical help.

"There?" Neji blanched.

Swallowing Sasuke nodded, "There. You go first,"

The bridge was clearly not meant to hold so much weight on it at one time but Sasuke did not care. He and Neji maneuvered the blond to the middle, mindful of how the ropes toghtened and squeaked and the how the board slats were wet. One slip and all of them would careen to their death. Sasuke breathed in deeply, resolutely pushing his fear to the darkest depths of his mind.

Inch by inch they got the unconscious blond to the middle of the bridge while the chopper hovered was above them. The beating of the blades sent ripples of air that buffered the bridge and made their quest just that much more perilous.

Looking up under his beating bangs, Sasuke saw Ryuu lower a stretcher board down with precise positioning. Carefully unloosening his arm, Sasuke took the board and stepped back and cautiously laid it down on the slippery slats between him and Neji who was now holding the Naruto alone. Sasuke felt gratitude fill his chest seeing an unbiased Neji that was by helping him to save his lover.

"Okay," He said when Naruto was down, "Gently strap him in."

Working on either end, Sasuke and Neji strapped the blond in and tenderly, the raven secured the choke collar. When the lines were snapped in place, Sasuke could not stop himself from laying a small kiss, upside down, on Naruto's lips. "See you soon."

Stepping away, Sasuke waved to the chopper and slowly the lines were lifted and in the next three minutes the blond was off to the hospital. Sasuke nearly sank to his knees knowing the Naruto was going to be taken care off but the he remembered where he was and grabbed at the railings.

"Hyuuga, wat-" Nagato's voice was frantic just before a shot rang out and Neji, hit from the back, careened over the edge of the bridge. Sasuke instantly fell to his feet and watched through the slats as Neji plummeted down to the river.

"NOOOOOOO!" Sasuke yelled.

A large splash told him that Neji had miraculously, avoided the sharp pointed rocks but that was no comfort to Sasuke. Adrenaline once again blanketed his mind as he darted up and scrambled to the other end of the bridge. Fear was now taking over his mind as he ran back into the front room, and tried to get a weapon, any weapon, he could use. He spun but there was nothing, nothing he could use.

"You should have counted the cost before getting you ex-boyfriend into your fucking mess," Kabuto snarled as he entered the room with six men behind him – all toting guns. "I am so glad to be your executioner, Uchiha."

Standing, Sasuke was resolved. If he died there, it wouldn't matter to him- Naruto was safe and he would move on. Facing his attackers, Sasuke said, "Your master is dead, I just killed Hidan, Konan is off no used to me and instead of you killing me, I will be the one ushering you into hell."

"How so?" Kabuto asked.

Sasuke's grin was scary as he suddenly dropped to the ground. A roundhouse kick sent one on of Kabuto's goons' gun flying as TenTen went on a rampage, Kiba took one out by tackle and Kin was busy disarming another as Shikamaru ran in.

The room devolved into a madhouse, Sasuke was weak but he knew he would hate himself if he sat this fight out. Hell, he was the reason for it anyway. Getting up, Sasuke marshalled all the strength he had and launched himself at Kabuto.

The surgeon managed to sidestep him and deliver a blow to his solar plexus that sent Sasuke careening back. He landed at Gaara's feet who only knelt down, ripped something from his pocket and stab Sasuke in the next before running off to help Kiba.

Sasuke was paralyzed for a moment before an energy he knew he did not have possessed his body. Flicking up, Sasuke made a mental note to say thanks to Gaara and went back to his target. Calling up every fight had with Naruto on the basketball court, his training in Karate and Aikido and Sanshou from Haku, Sasuke set himself out to kill. He wanted Kabuto to die painfully and used every trick in the book to inflict pain. His punches were bone-breaking, his strikes were lethal and his feet were merciless. Kabuto fought back but he was in shape to level with Sasuke's fury.

One punch this is for my mother, one kick, this is for my father, one broken nose, this is for making me believe Konan was real one eye gouge, this is for stealing ten years of my fucking life and one uppercut, this is for daring to harm the one I love.

"Sasuke!"

The Uchiha was deaf to anything but the ringing in his ears.

"Sasuke!"

Still the Uchiha punched until he was forcefully pulled off from the ground.

Sasuke blinked away the red in his eyes, the looked at the barely alive body on the ground and flexed his bloody fists. Shrugging Nagato's hold off him, Sasuke looked around and his eye met Kin who was on the ground- and not moving.

No! Running over to her, Ryuu, who was sporting a black eye, stepped into his way, "Stop Uchiha… she gone."

His words barely connected with his brain and when they did Sasuke nearly sank to his knees, "No…please no…"

"I'm not wor- do you understand that if any of you gets hurt or killed I'd blame myself for the rest of my life. I can't live with that!" His words that day haunted him and Sasuke felt a part of his soul die.

"I'm not worth a sacrifice." The aborted words he had tried to say that day came back to him in full force. And looking at Kin Sasuke's mind shrivelled up onto itself.

"Be one then."

Everything then happened in slow motion. Kabuto, who, for all accounts was down, grabbed a gun near him and titled it to Sasuke. The second the trigger was pulled a body threw itself before him - it was Konan who he had thought was still unconscious. The spray of her blood in the air was macabre curve.

Sasuke did drop to his knees then. Konan had a bullet to her stomach and was bleeding hard. The raven reached for her but drew back at the last minute. He had no idea what to say to her even as she was coughing up blood and dying. Dimly, he recognised that Nagato had yanked the gun away from Kabuto but his eyes were trained on Konan.

"Why?" he managed to say as her eyes were gettin dim. "Why would you do that?"

Her smile was painful, "Consider it as my way of saying sorry for..for everything I have done to you and your brother. You didn't deserve it Sasuke. This is my penance and I am happy it went this way. Now I can rest in peace."

Sasuke sat and watched her slip away into oblivion.

"Come on, Uchiha." Nagato said when her eyes finally closed, "Our work here is done,"

They, expect Ryuu and Neji, were all crammed into the armoured tank as it made it way back to the base. Sasuke was huddled under a blanket. The chopper had come back to cart off Kin's and Konan's bodies to the morgue and a barely alive Kabuto who was in trussed up and in holding to be extradited in the next few days. Neji, who was showing signs of hypothermia after being fished out of the ice cold river was with them too to dropped off at the hospital while the six men Kabuto had with brought him were hogtied and thrown into the back of the tank like worthless trash.

Sasuke could not believe it was over. This, the mission- it was all over. His logic knew it but it still didn't believe it. A part of him felt fulfilled that Orochimaru's cell was gone, but when he remembered that Kin was dead, he felt hollow. He liked the girl- dare he say- loved Kin- but she was now gone. Because of him. Her death would rest on his conscience for the rest of his knew that he should be feeling the same about Konan but for some reason, he could not feel that way.

He looked up to see Gaara's eyes on him. His voice was dead, "What did you give me?"

"A cocktail of B-vitamins and caffeine," Gaara replied tonelessly, "Extra energy in needle,"

"Thanks," Sasuke sighed, he then swallowed over a dry throat. His guilt was filling him to the brim and he couldn't take it any more. Someone was dead for him. How could he forgive himself? "...Forgive me, please, I need you all to forgive me of making you risk your life again."

"Uh-"

"Please," Sasuke begged, "I feel like a piece of shit knowing I was the one to drag you back into my mess and now…. now… Kin's gone and I- I can't…" he barely held back a sob as his hands tightened around the blanket. "Naruto's almost dead and Kin's gone, and Neji almost died…I just…I need you to forgive me."

With his head down, Sasuke did not see the looks the other shared until each one, one by one, said, "I forgive you,"

He did not see Nagato's grim smile either. It wasn't much, it didn't soothe the pain in his soul but it was something. Sasuke sighed, "Nagato, take me to Naruto."

I'm holding on

Why is everything so heavy

Holding on

To so much more than I can carry

I keep dragging around what's bringing me down

If I just let go, I'd be set free

Holding on

Why is everything so heavy

A week and a half later

Sasuke's face was pressed in the crook of his left arm while his right hand was grasping a cold, lifeless tan hand. Even though the covers hadn't been changed in a few days, the half white sheets on Naruto's bed still smelled like cheap detergent, and Lysol. The slightly abrasive feel of the cloth, pressed on his face, didn't do anything much to Sasuke's numb and insensate body anymore.

He didn't care that he hadn't eaten in a while or that his eyes were stained red with wanting to cry but his tear ducts had run dry days ago. He knew that the majority of his friends were really concerned that he had shut himself away from the world and had barricaded himself in Naruto's room, not leaving even if a zombie apocalypse was happening just outside the door.

The night Naruto had been admitted Sasuke, looking at his boyfriends pale and stricken face, unconscious, lying on the paler sheets, had felt a level of fear he didn't know cut through his entire being.

Sasuke had tried to be strong but after staring at Naruto's insensate body for a long time, and hearing the dire prognosis the doctors were throwing out, paired with the emotions building up inside him, Sasuke had fled to the hotel just to sit in his dark hotel room and stare numbly into space.

The days that followed had been worse. After incessantly asking the doctors for any information, they had finally broken and admitted they had done everything in their power to get the poison out if his system.

They had said that since the poison had already started to destroy every organ in the blonde's body in random selection, they couldn't follow where the pathogen was going to strike next.

Sasuke had read between the lines and knew that they were silently saying that he should probably prepare himself for Naruto's death. That same moment while Sasuke had been talking to the doctors they had rushed to Naruto side after his ECG monitor had gone crazy.

Sasuke had been indiscriminately shoved out of the room and had to look on though the glass outside, his heart firmly stuck in his throat while they attached the defibrillators to Naruto's naked chest.

Sasuke hadn't taken a single breath when the paddles had been added, once... twice... three... by the fourth he was starting to despair until he saw the doctors pull back and Naruto's ECG screen record a normal heartbeat.

Sasuke had gone back to his room extremely drained.

It had gotten worse every day after that: reports of edema in Naruto's left kidney, diminished protein in his blood, perforation in his spleen, arrhythmia in his heart, overactive white cell blood count...Sasuke had lost count of all their diagnosis after they had found signs of a cancerous tumor growing in his liver.

When Naruto, after being just unconscious, had finally slipped into a coma two days ago Sasuke had gone home and found himself sitting in the bathroom tub with the water falling over him, masking the silent tears that were sliding down his face.

It seemed so helpless until three day after a package with his name on it had been received at his hotel containing a single vial of dark green fluid and a note, 'For him. All at once.'

Instantly Sasuke knew it was his uncle.

Somehow Madara had picked up on what was happening. Not even caring that it was the middle of the night, Sasuke had ran with it to the hospital but when Sasuke had given the doctors the vial, they had been sceptic, saying that they needed to test it first. The had taken it and disappeared for days while Naruto was slowly slipping away.

On the third day of their testing Sasuke had gone postal until they had relented and administered the medicine to the blond through his IV in measured doses, stating that though the properties seemed positive they still had to be cautious.

Now he was beside his lover, in the muggy air in room while holding his limp hand and just breathing slowly, trying to control his emotions. Naruto hadn't reacted to the medicine yet and Sasuke was trying to marshal the broken vestiges of his faith into something solid.

He dimly heard the door open and his name called. He ignored it until his name was called twice more, "Sasuke… look at me."

On the last repetition the younger Uchiha looked through bleared eyes to see the concerned red eyes of his older brother a mere foot away from him. Sasuke immediately buried his head back into his arm.

"Go away Itachi." Sasuke said his voice thick and strange to his own ears. "Just go."

"No." Itachi said his tone strict. "Get up Sasuke, you are coming with me. You need to get out of here"

"Itachi, no." Sasuke refused, burying his head further in his arms, his voice obstinate. "I'm not leaving. Go away."

Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder, "Otouto you need to c-"

"Itachi, this isn't helping." came Kisame's deeper voice as the hand was removed. "Sasuke is an adult, if he wants to stay, just leave him."

It was only then that Sasuke looked up to see Itachi turn around and look at his fiancé, "But Kisame I d-"

"Baby, think." The older Mizu/Hoshigake said reaching out to cup his fiancé cheek. "What would you do if it was me on that bed?"

Out of the corner of his eye Sasuke saw Itachi's throat work, his face go a bit paler as the fear that thought carried made Itachi visibly wordless.

Kisame smiled, "See what I'm talking about."

After a moment Sasuke heard Itachi sigh, and then,

"Sasuke... I understand..." Itachi implored, kneeling down in front of him. "... but you look like death warmed over... This is hard and I won't make you leave...but at least have tea with me... at the cafeteria."

At the mention of the hot aromatic liquid Sasuke felt his stomach rumble and he groaned. He knew he needed to eat something but he still delayed for a moment.

He looked up at Naruto's blank face for the long moment, got up from his chair and brushed his fingertips over a swallow forehead before nodding silently to his brother.

"Okay." Sasuke murmured taking another look at Naruto before facing Itachi and walking out the door. "...Who called you?"

"Neji did this morning and the Nara after him and then Ryuu ..." Itachi said while walking through the corridors to the cafeteria, "But it wasn't necessary because after the first call I was halfway to the airport."

Sasuke tried to smile but the only thing he could feel was tiredness, bone marrow tiredness. "Thank you, Nii-san."

Reaching the cafeteria Sasuke looked around with dull eyes until Itachi gently guided him to a table in the corner. "I'll get the tea."

The moment Itachi left Sasuke's head fell into the cradle of his arms once more but this time he braced his chin on his arms and watch Itachi join the line.

Sasuke knew that Kisame's eyes were locked on his despondent figure him but Sasuke just didn't have the strength to address him unspoken questions.

"He's strong Sasuke." Kisame's said calmly from a mere two feet away. "From what Itachi told me, your boy took three gunshots for you a few months ago and now he swallowed poison for you, if that doesn't mean he loves you then I don't know what love is."

"...Man." Sasuke mumbled his voice cloaked by the cloth on his arm, "... Naruto is a man." '... And mine. ' Sasuke thought as a silent addition.

Kisame's chuckled, "My apology, with that kind of attitude he really is."

Sasuke sighed and sat up, his dark eyes running over the sparse occupants of the lunchroom to spot Itachi walking back to him, expertly balancing three loaded trays.

"How'd you do that?" Sasuke asked his older brother deposited the three trays on the table. Sasuke's had tea and a salad.

"I'm an architect foolish little brother." Itachi said sitting down, "I know the intricacies of Newton's first law of physics and everything about achieving perfect equilibrium, quod erat demonstrandum, I can conquer everything."

"Hn. Fancy and extreme condescending way of saying you have good balance." Sasuke snorted breathing in the steam from the styrofoam cup before taking a sip and immediately regretted it.

The amount of gas that cut through his gut made him cringe, making Sasuke fear that it would surge downwards. Thankfully it was released as a low burp before he took another drink.

Itachi prodded Sasuke head up to face him with two fingers. "How long has he been that way?"

"One week and six days." Sasuke supplied hollowly his eyes fixed in the dark liquid in the cup. "The poison is attacking every organ in his body and they don't know how to stop it."

Sasuke then sighed, realising that after saying this and if Naruto suddenly recuperated Itachi would be very suspicious.

He knew his brother would put two and two together knowing about his own miraculous recovery from Orochimaru's poison and Naruto's one.

It was high time to tell his brother about Madara, even though this was about the worst time in existence to do it.

He placed the empty cup down and softly pushed it away. "... Nii-san, you remember when at the camp I told you to go to our ancestral vault..."

Itachi nodded, his entire demeanour going serious. Privately, Itachi had been wondering when Sasuke would come clean about this, because over the past few months he had been coming up with a theory of two.

"Yes, why?"

"Father had..." Sasuke sighed scrubbing a hand through his hair, closed his eyes and blurted, ".. I can't tell you how much problems father has but Uncle Madara was one of them. He's alive Aniki and I've been talking with him. He was a one that confirmed Shisui's existence and... well a lot of other things."

Sasuke couldn't look his brother in the eye until Itachi poked two fingers into his forehead.

"About time baka." Itachi snorted, his hand hovering in the air. "I was wondering if you'd take it to your grave."

Sasuke balked rubbing his head. "You knew?"

"When I went to the vault the found a heap of letters dated in the day of Setsuna's massacre sent to Otou-san for the past twenty odd years, each one signed Madara."

Sasuke groaned, "...Are you mad?"

Itachi looked confused for a moment, "Why would I be?"

"Go to our bank accounts and check mine." Sasuke replied starting on his salad.

Curious, Itachi's pulled out his phone and accessed their account, entered Sasuke one, took one look and dropped the Samsung like it was a burning hot iron.

"Buddha." Itachi whispered eyes wide while he bent to retrieve the phone.

"See what I'm talking about." Sasuke genially replied spearing a cucumber slice.

"Umm 'Tachi..." Kisame said brushing the crumbs off his sandwich off his fingers, "Care to let me in?"

In response Itachi just slid his phone over to the deadlocked man. Kisame glanced down and his eyes widened slightly.

"Holy fuck...that's a... lot of zeroes."

Sasuke grunted while swallowing the last piece of kale he could stomach. Pushing the tray away from him Sasuke's face was grim. "Itachi, can we talk about something else, anything else?"

Itachi nodded, "Well, Japan in chaos right now, they found Namikaze-san almost dead in the basement of the Russian embassy and a man named Avilov Kyuubi is in prison. Then to add insult to injury they are extraditing him for murder of his brother, one now one knew he had."

"I did," Sasuke said bluntly, "That missing brother is Naruto's father."

Kisame almost fell of his seat. "What?"

To take his mind off the love of his life still in a coma, Sasuke told them all about it- how he met Ryu Namikaze at the Military Institution, how he been cajoled into join the Inzei and how he had refused. He told them how Ryu let out how his father was a suspect of his uncles murder by proxy and how Nagato, had filled in the blanks, telling Naruto of his heritage and then the windfall came.

He told them how just as they were prepping for the mission how Kyuubi- Naruto's adopted parent- had snuck of out of Russia to come back to Japan. He told them all, but carefully let out the role Madara had played into the whole mix. When this was over, he was going to see his Uncle and get the whole nine yards from him.

"And that it," Sasuke said dully, "At least justice has been served for once."

Kisame whistled, "Boy, nothing is every normal when it comes to you, isn't it?"

Sasuke snorted, "I'm preaching to the choir."

"True," Kisame said before looking at his watch. "Holy shit, has it really been two hours sine you started talking?"

The youngest raven's head darted up, "Two hours? Thanks Aniki but I need-"

"Just go Sasuke." Itachi replied kindly, "I wouldn't blame you."

"Arigato Nii-san."

Going back to the room Sasuke sat and looked painfully at the body lying on stark white sheets, insensate to any and everything around him and chocked- it was his fault. The memory of the day he lost Naruto was so stuck in his mind Sasuke knew he could never remove it. He sat there, trying to come to grips with his guilt and pain and the faint wondering what he would do if Naruto never woke up? How could he live with himself? Could he actually keep on living?

He felt the slap slight tightening on his fingers, and Sasuke, hoping it wasn't some kind of malicious dream, barely lifted his head from his arms as the fingers tightened again paired with a faint, "….S'uke."

Sasuke's head shot up fully, eyes wide to see hazed and unfocused blue eyes blinking at him.

"Naruto." Sasuke gasped, "Y-you're awake."

"Yea." Naruto's voice was scratchy and hoarse.

Sasuke blinked once more to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. When the picture before him didn't shift he knew he wasn't dreaming. He was awake. Naruto was finally AWAKE! God, he wanted to do so many things in that moment, but couldn't fully compartmentalize his emotions. So, before he knew it, he had reached over to the call button and pressed on it hard.

As the ring ran out Sasuke pressed his lips to a warm forehead, "I'm glad you're back. We'll talk after you get checked out baka."

In the next second doctors rushed into the room and Sasuke was ushered out. He stood at the window his hand clutching his cell phone to his ear as he called Itachi to tell them the news. While the doctors were still checking Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji and TenTen entered the hallway and stood by his side.

"How is he?" Shikamaru asked looking at the mass of white robed people almost obscuring the body on the bed.

"I don't know," Sasuke said honestly, "I know that he woke up and was cognitive enough to say my name. That should say something, right?"

"Maybe the poison hadn't reached his brain yet." Neji proposed. "Did they give him any kind of drug to block its progress from his mind?"

"No," Sasuke said, "...But someone else did."

He knew curious looks were being dug into his body but he ignored them just as the door opened and a doctor came out, tugging down his mask.

"Well Mr. Uchiha, looks like you were right." the doctor admitted a bit ashamed, "We're taking a blood sample to have it analyzed, but by all accounts, his organs are taking a turn for the better. His motor skills are returning, there is no fever, no rash and no pain anywhere."

The other doctors walked out of the room, some of them shooting mystified and impressed looks at Sasuke. One of, holding a clipboard, stepped forward,

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

He turned, "Yes?"

"Mr. Uzumaki is asking for you." the doctor said.

Sasuke shot an apprehensive look at his friends, who just nodded, took a deep breath and walked into the room, closed the door behind him and couldn't make himself take one more step further.

A lacklustre blond head twisted, "Baby come here... please."

His muscles seemed to unfreeze and Sasuke edged up to the head of the bed, trying to blink away the stinging behind his eyes.

A pale tan hand rose up to press a thumb under a dark and welling orb. "You've been crying."

"How could I not, I thought I was going to lose you..." Sasuke swallowed, cupping the hand on his cheek, leaning over so that his bangs covered his eyes, "I swore if you died, nothing would stop me from joining you."

A faint crooked grin twitched at Naruto's lips, "S'uke, believe me, it would take a hell more than what happened for me to leave you."

Those blue eyes are filled with such resolve, determination, love and patience that the Uchiha couldn't deal with it. Suddenly, black eyes filled with tears from tear ducts that had gone desert dry days ago. The steel in Sasuke's spine evaporated and he sank over, his head buried in Naruto's neck, his body shuddering with soft sobs.

"It should have been me," Sasuke choked, his fingers twisted on the hospital gown. "They wanted me, not you! It should have been me! I should have been the one to suffer, not you! I'm so sorry Naruto. I can't forgive myself, I'm so sorry, so sorry, so-"

"Sasuke." Naruto whispered softly, "Stop. I know they wanted you, and that's exactly why I did it. I didn't want to them to get the satisfaction of killing you. There's so many things you're strong in Sasuke, but there's stuff I'm stronger in."

A pale golden hand rose to bury itself in inky locks," This is one of them. Your system is already jacked up baby, if you had swallowed that poison, I know you'd be dead and I would hate myself every day of my life. I knew I could handle it better... and besides..." Naruto pressed, "I'm your boyfriend Sasuke, protecting you comes with the title."

They both know that "protecting" wasn't the word, "sacrifice" was more an appropriate term.

Thin lips pressed together before Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his lips on Naruto's. "Aishiteru. Thank you."

Blue eyes blinked, "A doctor told me that I was on the edge of dying and then, some strange package shows up out of the freaking blue with an antidote... it was Uncle Ma-moneybags wasn't it?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

"Huh," Naruto relaxed, "Remind me to tell him thanks when I get out of here."

Sasuke smiled, "Somehow I think he already knows."

A long moment passed with them just staring at each other, cementing the others face in their mind.

It was trite and slightly pathetic but Sasuke wanted more assurance, "You'll never leave me?"

"Never S'uke." was repeated with a solid security, showed in both his voice and his eyes. "Not until the day I die."

Naruto's hand rose from the sheets to wrap around Sasuke's neck and pull his face down to press his forehead on his. Both pairs of eyes slipped closed.

"Me too, Naruto," Sasuke whispered, "For the rest of my life, I'll be at your side."

No words were said then, no one moved, just the feel of each other's breath was enough. It was the end of something but the beginning of something greater... the rest of their lives, as one.

THE END...

(for now)

HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT IS DONE! MY GOD! IT IS DONE! WHY! WHY IS IT DONE!

Ohhhh. Right it isn't- not really.

'A PASSING FANTASY' and 'SIDE FICS TO DAFTED' are on deck.

REVIEW DAMNIT!