Chapter Five

A/N: Wow...pretty sure this was the shortest fanfic I've ever written o_o But, anyway! In response to:

ChristellaShinobu: OMG! XD For some reason, that reminds me of Tobuscus! Neosporin! Neosporin!

Quottheraven5: Haha, don't worry. Sasuke will be fine :D

Rainclaw321: First, thanks :) I'm glad you like it and I really do appreciate the constructive-critism (helps me get better and whatnot). Second, remembering that Sasuke was in a bit of a hurry. Even if the gaurds had called out to him, he wouldn't have stopped (even if he was a bit stumble-y). Same goes for anyone else in the streets. Plus, it's not an uncommon thing for random villagers to keep to themselves on 'awkward' situations, particularly if it has something to do with Naruto. (thinking back to Naruto's childhood...they weren't exactly 'helpful' to him.) And don't worry, pleanty of Sasuke-arm-pain coming up soon XD. Again, thanks and I hope that clears things up a bit :D

IWishIWasACheescake: Yay, Sasuke! XD

MarinaUchimaki: ...? XD

Rosebunse: Yay :D Glad you like it!

THANKS EVERYONE! This was a really short one but I hope you liked it :D All the wonderful reviews are greatly appreciated!

Sasuke sprints down the village streets, wincing every other step when his arm is jostled. No time to be worried about my arm... He reminds himself. I'll get it looked at later...right now, keeping the village safe from Itachi is more important.

But still... The young teen flinches, cursing silently as pain radiates through the entire left half of his body. It was as if his brother hadn't just broken his arm, but every other bone in that side of his body as well.

Soon, however, he arrives at Kakashi's apartment and hurries up the steps. He doesn't bother knocking and, instead, simply bursts inside. Finding Gai and Asuma still there, chatting quietly. Kakashi is still bed-ridden but, this time, he seemed less unconscious and more like he was simply sleeping. Had he recovered from his fight with Itachi already?

"Sasuke...!" Gai gasps, eyeing his arm.

"I'm fine." The raven insists. "But we've got a bit of an emergency."

Both Jonin stand up. "What's the matter?" Asuma asks him.

"Those men that Kakashi fought, Itachi and Kisame," Sasuke lowers his voice. "They might be on their way to the village right now. You need to get to the gates and make sure no one gets in."

"They're...coming here?" Gai says, looking slightly confused. "Weren't they already here?"

Sasuke shakes his head. "They left when they found out Naruto wasn't here. He was in another city and they went there to look for him."

"Then why're they coming back?" Gai wonders, inciting a aggrivated sigh from Sasuke.

"Because Naruto's here now, okay? I tracked him down and brought him back because he was hurt. He's in the hospital now and recovering from his injuries but those guys want to...take him somewhere, I guess... They almost killed him."

The two Jonin exchange disturbed looks before nodding at Sasuke. "We'll take care of it. They won't get into the village."

"Good." The teen once again flinches at the pain in his arm, catching the attention of his seniors.

"You're hurt too, it seems." Asuma comments.

"I'm alright..." Sasuke grumbles but it was a bad lie.

Asuma flicks on his lighter, momentarily holding the small flame to the end of his cigarette before popping the smoking stick into his mouth. "It's okay now, kid. Get yourself to a doctor and get your injuries looked at as well."

Sasuke frowns, not wanting to seem weak in front of them. But he knew they were right. There was nothing weak about accepting help, he supposed. "I will."

"Hnn...?" White light blossoms above him. For a moment though, he was horribly disoriented. He was in a white room, on a bed, connected to tons of beeping machines. But...why? What was this place? He also couldn't help but notice that Sasuke was no where to be found. Am I...dead? He wonders, numbly. Oh man...I promised Sasuke I wouldn't pass out...dying is way worse than that...

Naruto blinks, tiredly. Turning his head, he finds someone standing next to him. The woman was young, probably in her early twenties. She wore a white uniform with a small, blue cross on the pocket of her jacket. She was leaned over a clipboard she had balanced on her forearm.

A nurse...? Naruto wonders. Oh, okay. I'm not dead...I'm in the hospital.

"Huh?" The young nurse suddenly noticed Naruto's eyes on her. She looks down and smiles at him. "Oh, you're awake." Her smile was sweet and honest. She had a kind face. "How are you feeling?"

The blonde hesitates. He didn't really feel anything...he was pretty numb. "Okay I guess..." He mumbles. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

She nods. "We have you on some pretty strong pain killers." She explains. "So that's to be expected. Still, it's good you're not in pain."

Naruto nods. He certainly didn't miss the agony he'd experienced in the forest. Plus, now that he was more awake and aware, he felt much better as well. He wasn't weak anymore and he could actually think straight. "Hey," He begins, uncertainly. "There was another boy who came here with me...do you know how he's doing?"

She pauses, looking thoughtful. "What's his name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The nurse shakes her head. "He's not one of my patients. However, if you'd like, I can check at the front desk to see what room he's in. And I can try to find out."

Naruto brightens. "Thanks!"

She giggles. "It's no problem. I'll go right now."

"Aaaand...there you go, Sasuke." The doctor takes a step back, giving him room to look at the cast that had been placed over his arm. "Obviously, it'll still be sore and pretty useless for a while. But as long as you're careful, it'll get better soon."

Sasuke grunts, hating the idea of not being able to train because of his arm.

The doctor stands up. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Nah," The Uchiha stands as well. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Sasuke." He says as he leaves the room.

It had been a long time since Sasuke had first come to have his arm treated, hours actually. He had to wonder how Naruto was doing... Had he gotten worse? Was his life in danger...? Or maybe he was awake now...

Just then, someone comes rushing up the hall after him. A nurse.

"Excuse me," She says.

Sasuke frowns. Was she talking to him? "Yeah?"

"You're Sasuke, right?" She asks. "Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Uh, yeah." He nods. "Why?"

She grins a little, folding her arms. "Naruto has been asking about you." She tells him. "He wants to know if you're okay."

His eyes widen, slightly. Naruto was awake! "I'm fine." He tells her. "How about him?! Is he okay?!"

The nurse snickers. "He'll live." She assures him. "Would you like to see him?"

"Y-yeah." Sasuke says.

"Sasuke!"

He turns, quickly to find his other teammate, Sakura, hurrying up the hall behind him. Her pink hair was let down, without a headband to hold her bangs back, as if she'd just been lounging around her house until now. There was a slightly frantic look to her emerald green eyes.

"What's up?" He asks her, already knowing the answer.

Her gaze instantly finds his wrapped arm, set in a sling by his chest. "So it was true..." She gasps. "You and Naruto were attacked by some crazy guys while you were out of the village!"

Some crazy guys... Sasuke nods. "Yeah, how much were you told?"

"Just that...you got attacked and now you're in the hospital. Oh, Sasuke! Are you two okay?! What about Naruto? Is he badly hurt?"

Sasuke pauses a moment. "He was."

Sakura flinches at hearing that.

"But I don't know how he is now. I'm about to go see him."

"I'll go too." She says and Sasuke shrugs.

Knock, knock

"We're coming in." Naruto's nurse slides the door open and leads his teammates inside. "Hey, kiddo, you awake?"

Naruto's eyes flutter open again. He hadn't been sleeping but he was pretty close to it. However, as soon as he sees his friends walk inside, his groggy eyes widen and he visibly brightens. "Hey!" He cheers, happily.

Sakura smiles in relief and goes to his side, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Wow! You look terrible, Naruto!" She jokes, meanly. This only gets her a fake pout from the blonde boy.

"That's mean, Sakura..."

She giggles and shakes her head. "And Sasuke said you were hurt." She rolls her eyes and turns to Sasuke, who was still hanging back by the door.

Naruto eyes his friend's broken arm, suspiciously. He saved my life...

And at the same time, Sasuke notices the fresh bandages around Naruto's leg, as well as a few smaller gauze and wraps that littered his face and throat from where he'd been thrown to the ground and choked. His arms were filled with IV drips that desperately tried to replace the blood he'd lost and keep him from getting an infection. In all, both boys were wrecked from the encounter.

There was a small blush on Naruto's face when he said, "I uh...guess I should thank you..." He mumbles, obviously avoiding Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke frowns, fighting his own awkward blush. God he hated when people got sentimental about stuff... He especially hated being thanked. And by Naruto of all people... it just wasn't in his comfort zone. "Erm, you already thanked me, Loser..." He grumbles, quietly.

"Huh?" Naruto tilts his head. "I did?"

"Yeah. On the back to the village..." Sasuke explains with a casual shrug.

"Oh..." Naruto shrugs as well. "Well I can't really...remember much of what happened...I guess I was unconscious for most of it."

Sasuke nods but doesn't say anything else.

As if on que, the door slides open again. All three turn, expecting to see Naruto's nurse strolling in. None of them expected to see the pair of men that suddenly arrived. Sasuke's eyes widen.

"Kakashi..." He says. "When did you wake up?!"

And beside him was,

"Pervy Sage?!" Naruto shouts, glaring at his teacher.

Kakashi and Jiraiya both offer apologetic smiles. "I woke up only a short while after you ran off to save Naruto." Kakashi tells them. "When you came back to get Gai and Asuma, I was just...uh...taking a bit of a cat nap." He admits, lamely.

Jiraiya doesn't try to hide shame in his voice when he says, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I really shouldn't have left you alone like that...not with Itachi so close by."

The blonde hesitates, uncertain of how to respond. "Well...it's okay, I guess. I mean, I'm not dead after all." He lightly points out.

Jiraiya smiles at his pupil before turning to Sasuke. "Mind if I have a word with you in private, Sasuke?"

The raven nods and follows him out into the hall, leaving his teammates watching him curiously as he leaves.

"What's up?" He asks the Toad Sage.

"I just wanted to thank you." Jiraiya says.

Here we go again. Sasuke mentally groans.

"You did a good thing Sasuke." Suddenly, the Sennin's face turns serious. "I know about your ambition to kill Itachi." He says, quietly. Just the mention of his brother's name sends hateful shivers down the Uchiha's spine. "But I just want you to know you did the right thing. It must have been hard to forget about your revenge..."

"Not really." Sasuke suddenly tells him.

"Huh?"

"I mean, yeah, for a minute there I got a little distracted...but...as soon as I saw how bad Naruto was...all I was really thinking about was saving him."

Jiraiya smiles. "You did good, Sasuke. You chose your friend over hate and revenge. And because of that, Naruto is going to live." With that, Naruto's mentor slides the door open again and goes back into the crowded hospital room.

And Sasuke was left standing in the hall, staring at the floor in awe. It wasn't that Sasuke hadn't...known that he'd done the right thing... It's just that...for some reason, it sunk in more when Jiraiya had said it.

I missed my chance to kill Itachi... He reminds himself. But, at the same time...Naruto's alive because of that. But was it worth it? Sasuke lowers his gaze, a small frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Thanks, Sasuke..."

A pang goes through Sasuke at the memory of his friend's voice, using up some of the small amount of energy he had left...to thank him. To thank him for saving his life. And back in the room too...he'd thanked him again.

Sasuke sighs, running a hand through his hair.

I will definitely kill my brother. He decides. But, for now...I guess I did the right thing, saving Naruto instead of killing Itachi. The raven's expression turns dark, a firmiliar fire glinting in his coal black eyes. I've lost people before, He reminds himself. I don't want that to happen again...never again. So yeah, I'll kill Itachi eventually...

But I plan to have my team at my side when I do!