He had just blasted his fist throgh Naruto's chest and Naruto stood there, held up by Sasuke's trembling arm, staring at him calmly. It scared Sasuke at how understanding Naruto always was, even on deaths doorstep.
"Because sa..." He coughed up some blood and it fell plip plop on Sasuke's arm, who shuddered and stared at it for a second. "Because Sasuke..."
"What?"
"This isnt the first time I've nearly been killed and not the first you nearly killed me."
"What!"
"I'm amazed you dont remember blasting your fist into my..." Another coughing fit. "chest before. You have, you know?"
"No. I couldn't. I'd never..."
"You have." Naruto unzipped his jacket and the part he couldnt get off because of Sasuke's fist, he tore with shaking fingers.
In the middle of his chest, maybe an inch from the hole where Sasuke's arm was, was a greusome scar. The scar was raised and Sasuke could tell, had been long in the healing and that explained why Naruto was always careful about being hit in the chest.
"I...I couldnt..." Sasuke said weakly as he looked pleading into Naruto's eyes, hoping the boy lied.
"You did."
"Why? Why dont I remember?"
"You felt bad for hurting the only person who actually tried to know you, so you made yourself forget it...you left me out there in the rain..."
Naruto's voice drifted off and Sasuke's memory returned of that night. It had been years before and Sasuke had been out late training and Naruto had come to see how he was.
He remembered the younger Naruto vividly, the trembling body from the cold rain, the nervous shifting, all of it. He and Naruto had sat down to talk for a while as he regained his breath and Naruto had scooted closer to him, slowly but definitly.
"Naruto, whats wrong with you?" He asked.
His family had still been alive back them when they were ten (go with it kay?) and he had been like Naruto, not special and another one of the crowd. Naruto had hugged him tightly saying something unintelligible then pulled back and kissed Sasuke fiercely.
Tears formed in Sasuke's eyes aas the memory continued and he watched himself pull away from Naruto in disgust. He had scrambled away, terrified, and in his horrified state he had blasted his fist through Naruto's chest with plain chakra.
He remembered pulling his bloody fist out of Naruto's chest and watching him fall to the ground in a heap, bleeding. After watching Naruto fall down, he had ran off, leaving the bleeding blonde in the grass of the training grounds in his building pile of blood and the freezing rain.
After blinking a few times Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes. "The freezing rain helped me, saved my llife. It had made my blood run slower and so I didnt bleed out when Iruka found me. For a year and a half I was in a rehabilitation center for it. My heart was so weak, the doctors assumed I wouldnt be able to be a ninja. I proved them all wrong when I went back to the academy thn passed when I made shadow clones."
Sasuke didnt know what to say. How could Naruto forgive him so easily for blasting a hole in his chest and almost taking his dream from him?
A choked sob escaped Sasuke's throat. "Why! Why forgive me?"
"Because..." Naruto coughed and looked away from Sasuke. "I still feel the way I felt then."
Sasuke's eye widened. "You...bu...but Sakura...?"
"Was a cover up."
"It was a good one."
Naruto coughed again. As long as Sasuke kept his fist where it was, he knew Naruto would live but as soon as he pulled it away, the blood would flow out the wound.
"Like I wanted the town to know I was gay and...the Kyuubi killers container."
"What?"
"Look at my chest. Notice it seems to be healing the burns from the chidori."
"It...is."
"Kyuubi is the red chakra..." He had another bloodly cough. "I had every time I was beaten down."
Sasuke scrunched his eyes closed and put his head on the upper part of Naruto's chest, right below his shoulder. Naruto's hand came up and combed through Sasuke's hair to reassure him.
"You have things to do, Sasuke. The longer you stand here, the further they become."
"I cant just leave you here."
"Yes you can. You have before, why not now when you really need to?"
Be...because..." HE lifted his head and looked at NAruto's pained face. "Because I cant forget this time. I cant do that."
"Why not?"
Sasuke bent forward and kissed Naruto. Naruto felt Sasuke's tears fall on his cheeks and knew the boy had fallen just as hard for him as he did.
When Sasuke pulled away, he gently lifted Naruto into his arm, his right bent around the blondes broken body and the left keeping its spot i his chest to keep his life blood flowing correctly. He went as fast as he could towards the village and Tsunade's office without jolting Naruto's wound.
"This time, Ill do the right thing." He whispered as he reached Tsunade's office and kicked the door open.
Two weeks had passed after Sasuke took Naruto to Tsunade, had his fist taken from the blondes chest and the blond had been treated and entered into the ICU. He hadnt seen or heard from the blonde and wasnt allowed to see him because of how unstable he was.
Another week had passed and Sasuke had begun to worry. Had Naruto passed and he wasnt allowed to know? Was the blonde okay? Was he still in the ICU? When would he be let out?
At the end of the third week, Sasuke finally splipped into the ICU of the hospital and into Naruto's room. There the blonde lay with bandages wrapped all around his middle and tubes and things attached to all kinds of places on his body.
Sasuke roughly scrubbed the tears rom his eyes and combed his fingers through the blondes hair. He hated what he had done and wished whole heartedly the blonde would wake.
"I see you came to see him even when we said you couldnt." Kakashi's voice said from the doorway, even less emotioned than normal.
Sasuke quickly his the few tears on his face and turned to his seneri with his normal stiotic look. "When is he going to wake?"
"We dont know. You hit the major chakra pathway."
"And that means...?"
"If he does wake, he may not be able to use any chakra if ever again."
Sasuke's head fell. "Oh."
"Now you can see the result of your bloodlusting actions."
"I never meant for this to happen."
"But it did. It doesnt matter if you meant it or not."
Sasuke never wanted his bloodlust to harm the blonde in any way. He knew he had been through too much already in his life and wanted him to be safe, and yet he still got hurt.
"Has anyone said when they think he'll wake?"
"No one knows, Sasuke. He's been in a coma for over a week. I can tell you want to apologize but he woke wake just yet I believe."
Sasuke nodded dumbly and walked silently out of the room. He dicided stubbornly that he'd come see Naruto until he woke and was back to normal.
Another week had passed with Sasuke coming to visit Naruto every day for at least an hour each time. He would talk to the comatose boy like he used to speak, with no hauntings of his brother, like he was normal again.
Soon Sasuke looked forward to his visit just to let everything out to the blonde. He'd talk about how Sakura was annoying and how he hated his fangirl attention, all of it was told t the boy on the bed.
The beginning of the fifth week started and Sasuke headed for the hospital. On his way, he swore he saw a flash of orange but when h turned there was nothing orange there.
Sasuke stepped into the hospital, where havoc had taken command. He looked around confused at the scurrying doctors, not knowing what was going on.
"...How could he be gone?"
"...He was supposed to be comatose."
"...How did someone miss him leaving?"
"...She'll kill us when she finds out he's gone."
Sasuke shook his head and walked into the room Naruto had been in and froze. The blonde wasnt in the bed and everything the doctors were babbling about hit him hard: the blonde was missing.
He looked around wildly, trying to find some sign it was a joke but everything poitned that Naruto had either been taken or he had woken and left on his own. With quick breaths of fright, Sasuke ran out of the hospital and to Kakashi and Iruka's house (he knew they were together)
With a loud banging knock, Sasuke called for his sensei's. They answered the door half dressed and confused.
"What is it, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked a bit peeved, he had been getting it on with Iruka.
"Iruke noticed the wide eyes and fitgityness of Sasuke. "Something wrong?"
"He's gone."
"Who?"
"Naruto. He's gone from the hospital!"
Iruka's eyes widened and looked frantically out the door. He considered Naruto like a son and his disappearance unnerved him.
"You go look at the training grounds and anywhere he would normally be and Kakashi and I will search the rest of the village and tell Tsunade."
"I'm really not looking forward to that part."
"Come on."
Sasuke raced off for the places Naruto might have been: his apartment, Ichiraku Mount Hokage. No sign of the blonde and Sasuke began to panic as he sped towards the training grounds.
When he reached the training grounds, Sasuke heard grunts from one of the sections. There stood Naruto in his battered, blasted and torn orange suit, pounding his fist into a tree.
"Why...why wont it work?" He heard Naruto mutter sadly before leaning against the tree in a depressed manner. "Why wont it work?" His fist pounded weakly against the tree.
Sasuke stepped out from the ring of trees and looked sympathetically at NAruto. "Naruto?"
Naruto looked up but said nothing. He neither spoke nor moved as Sasuke came up to him.
"What wont work?"
Naruto made a few hand signs for making shadow clones and nothing happened. Everything he tried didnt work.
"I cant...I cant do any of it." Naruto said as his head dropped.
Sasuke reached out and pulled ANruto to him and hugged him tightly as tears spilled from both of their eyes. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to be hurt. I never meant to hurt you. Im sorry. Im sorry you cant use your chakra right now but Kakashi said there was a possibility that it might come back to you. Im sorry, though, for it all."
Naruo's head just stayed on Sasuke's chest as he cried his frustration and worries out. Neither caredif they were seen but knew they needed it as much as the other.
Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke too and they both held each other tightly, though Sasuke was sure not to hurt Naruto's chest. They hugged each other for comfort and security for a long while until Sasuke felt Naruto drift off to sleep against him.
Sasuke smiled a bit when he looked down at Naruto's sleeping form before scooping him up. He slowly walked back to the village and found Kakashi and Iruka before having reached the hospital.
The next day Sasuke came early to check on Naruto, who had been moved to a normal room, and smiled when he saw the blonde playing with a fox that had made its way through the first floor window. He slowly walked into the room, as to not scare the fox or Naruto and sat in the visitors chair against th wall.
"Are you scared of hurting me again, Sasuke?" Naruto said as the fox scampered up his arm across his shoulder and onto his head.
"I didnt want to scare the fox."
"He's used to human contact, arent ya?" The fox made a mewl in reply. "I've known this little guy and its momma for a while. Go say hi to Sasuke. He saved me, you know?"
Saduke looked away from Naruto aat the last part then turned back when the little fox leapt up in his lap. Naruto sat there smiling and had a forgiving look on his face.
"Dont reside on what was in the past." ANruto said quietly as he watched the little fox curl up in Sasuke's lap. "It seems he trusts you."
"He shouldnt."
"Why not? All you have done is make a few errors in your life."
"I almost killed you!"
"But you didnt." Naruto's voice was calm.
"Still, I have almost killed you twice now."
"And each time you didnt."
"I dont see how you arent terrified of me."
"You havent been the only one to almost kill me. Remember, the village hates me. They have all had reason and enough tries to to kill me." Naruto gave him a smile. "If I was to hate everyone who has tried to kill me, I wouldnt have anyone close to me. Just let it pass and let us continue on...our lives..."
Sasuke let his head drop and he stared avidly at the foxes tail. "I'm sorry that you cant use our chakra. Im so sorry." He whispered.
"I can get along without it."
"But you cant be Hokage without it."
"I can fight like Lee does and Ill still be the greatest ninja."
Sasuke gave Naruto a wavering smile. "I hope so. I didnt want to ruin your dream."
"You didnt. Ill just have to accomplish it a different way."
"If your chakra doesnt come back."
"Right. Do you know when they'll let me out...or how long I was out?"
"You were comatose..." Sasuke looked away from Naruto's face.
"Stop being so god damn sorry and look me in the eye like you used to!" Naruto yelled.
Sasuke snapped his eyes back to Naruto but they soon drifted away again. Naruto growled and stood up in a flourish of sheets.
"I am still capable and if you dont stop treating me like I'm going to break any second, Ill show you."
"I RUINED your chance of becomming Hokage!" He had placed the fox on the floor and stood up angrilly
"No you didnt! If you did I would have said so. I would have blames you but I'm not!"
"People do stupid things when they like someone!"
"Just like you are now. If you didnt like me, you would have been the cold heartless bastard and would have blamed my stupidity in lowering my guard while in a fight with you on myself. NONE of it was your fault!"
Sasuke looked away, seeming to deflate, and Naruto saw the layer of tears the formed in his eyes. He knew Sasuke blamed himself because he liked Naruto and Naruto didnt want him to be blamed.
"Its not your fault, Sasuke. Just let it drop." Naruto padded gracefully over to Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulder before speaking quietly. "None of its your fault. If I can forgive you, why cant you forgive yourself?"
"Because everytime I'll look at you I'll remember that I almost killed you." Sasuke said as his head dropped whjere he looked at the floor.
Naruto walked around Sasuke and lifted his chin lightly. He looked in Sasuke's scared obs and gave him a reassuring smile.
"If I dont blame you, neither should you." He whispered before kissing Sasuke lightly. "I never will...as long as your with me."
Sasuke pulled Naruto into a hug and kissed his neck, his cheek and finally his lips. He knew that Naruto was right and as long as he had the blonde he didnt mind or blamed himself.
From then on, Naruto and Sasuke were nearly inseperable, most of their friends thought they were just best friends but as the days and months passed they passed the stage of friendshp into the stage of lover. They spent every night cuddling each other and helping one another through their problems.
Naruto's chakra returned three months after he woke and Sasuke was there to help him become reaquainted with it and helped eachother progress even further. When the time came to fight Orochimaru and Itachi, they were there, hand in and, and came out, though banged up and carried, hand in hand.
As the time finally came for Tsunade to retire, Sasuke was there, standing beside Naruto as he accepted the Hokage garb and as congratulations, they kissed right on stage. None of it was new but it seemed perfect for them and no one questioned it, since they were used to it by then.
Everything ended as Sasuke and Naruto had dreamed of. They had someone to love and care for them even as Sasuke would come back all bloody and beaten up from ANBU missions and NAruto from hard council meetings and fights as Hokage.