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Chapter Text

It was nearly twelve at night on what should have been an ordinary evening, and Naruto’s best friend Sasuke had not come back to the care house they were forced to call home.

Sure they were both seventeen (nearly adults in the eyes of the law) but he was still worried. Sasuke hadn’t been at the care home as long as Naruto had, having grown up there after the hospital he was born in was attacked during his mother’s labour and both she and his father were killed. An old doctor had saved his life and Naruto spent his early years resenting the unknown man and wishing he hadn’t. Nowadays, he wasn’t really sure how to feel about it. He never knew his parents, never got to know the life he should have had, so what was there to miss?

Besides, that wasn’t really as bad as it could be.

Sasuke’s entire family was brutally slaughtered by an unknown killer, still on the loose to this day. Sasuke at the young age of ten was the only life known to have been spared. His older brother Itachi had vanished that day and the lingering rumours were he was the murderer, even if he’d barely been a teenager at the time. On that fateful night, Sasuke lost everything. Whoever he had been before that event was gone. He became bitter and twisted to the point where he was almost unreachable. He snapped at the other kids in the care home, and lashed out at the staff who worked there. Only Naruto had been able to get through to him. They were making progress.

Or at least, Naruto thought they were.

Sasuke was currently not in the room they shared. And that was bad. It was the anniversary of the massacre of his family, and he had persuaded Naruto to cover for him so he could go out and let off some steam. He’d always dropped hints to Naruto to make him believe that he was going to one of the nearby wildlife reserves or a gym, but Naruto knew the truth. This happened every year on the same day. He’d followed Sasuke twice, the first time out of curiosity and the second out of a strange penance. He knew what his friend was doing.

Sasuke was out getting drunk.

Completely smashed actually. Drunk to the point that it was borderline dangerous. But he always, always came home around eleven. And now the clock was minutes away from chiming twelve. And his bed was still empty.

Naruto didn’t want to get worked up over nothing but he had this horrible feeling that whatever was holding Sasuke back, it wasn’t nothing.

Just then, Naruto’s battered second hand phone (a privilege he had only recently been given but had latched onto with a fervour) began to ring. He scooped it up and took note of the familiar caller ID.

Jerk

He answered it quickly, holding it up to his ear while his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

“Sasuke, where the hell are you?”

There was no reply for a moment and Naruto panicked, his overactive imagination kickstarting into gear. Was this the beginnings of a ransom call? Had the illusive murderer finally come back to ensure all the Uchiha’s were gone? Just as he was mid-deep in his panic-induced train of thought, he heard some background noise.

There was some music playing, a current song Naruto was somewhat familiar with. And then there were voices. One of them rose above the rest, loud and somewhat aggravating.

“Seriously, we don’t just live in some just dumb home and try to pretend we can be one happy family  It’s a school for people whose families were murdered. And our leader trains us to avenge their deaths. You have to be a part of it.”

He was about to call out to Sasuke again before it clicked. This was an accidental phone call. Sasuke had probably sat on the call button or something. This would’ve been immensely funny if not for the seriousness of the conversation Naruto was now privy to.

“You mean it,” Naruto was able to pick out Sasuke’s voice, slightly slurred and less loud than the others speaking. “You’ll help me find out who killed them.”

“Sure, you can come with us right now. Forget the other dumb place. You think playing nice with itsy bitsy kids is going to make your family proud. You need to get out there and save their tortured souls or whatever.”

“What…what are you?” Sasuke said slowly.

“We call our school The Sound. And we’re the Sound Five. We’re the closest to achieving our goal. A few more rounds on me and then we’ll take you there. Orochimaru will be excited to see you.”

Naruto hung up on Sasuke with a definitive click of the button. He could barely move. He knew what the Sound Care Home was, and who ran it. The infamous Orochimaru had always been in the news for some sort of scandal. His so-called orphanage (who called them orphanages anymore?) used to be in the slums of town and never seemed to try and help kids get homes. It was reported to be a violent and unsanitary place with some children there not even being orphans, or at least, not until Orochimaru got his hands on the family. Authorities tried to raid them once and after that, they vanished off the map. There was still talk that the place was up and running but the police just couldn’t find it. Naruto had used to have nightmares as a kid of being sent there, if he’d annoyed one of the staff or failed to appeal to a foster family. It had hovered over him sometimes more than the deaths of his parents did.

And if Sasuke was truly going with them, then Naruto wouldn’t be able to find him. Like the infamous care home, he’d vanish without a trace. Naruto needed to get to Sasuke’s usual pub and pick him up right now. But he didn’t have a car or a licence, or even an Uber account.

His mind was racing at a million miles per second, trying to formulate a plan as he scrambled for his clothes.

The best plan- the most sensible plan- he decided, was to wake up Iruka, the man who ran the care home. He had a car and Naruto could lead him to where Sasuke was. Plus, having an adult on his side would give him more of a chance against the Sound Five or whatever the hell they called themselves.

But if he woke Iruka, then he would know what Sasuke had been doing since he was eleven (Naruto would never know how he got the alcohol at that age nor did he particularly want to) and admit that he’d been covering for his friend all this time. And then they would both be in trouble, Sasuke especially. After everything he’d been through, he didn’t deserve to be punished for his grief.   

The second-best thing to do was call one of his friends from his support group.

Naruto had recently begun attending a support group for children and teens dealing with familial issues such as divorce, abuse, losing their loved ones, and a whole range of other problems. A few of them had bonded really quickly in that easy way you did when you were young and liked the same things and shared the same feelings. Sometimes they could be snappy when they were forced to talk about things they didn’t like, but they were definitely nice enough to lend Naruto a hand. If he got a whole bunch of them together, they could swoop in and grab Sasuke with plenty of backup in case it came to a fight.

It did occur to Naruto to call the police, he wasn’t that stupid, but he knew the mostly likely outcome would not be that his friend would get in trouble, but that they’d use Sasuke to get to Orochimaru and put him in danger. Naruto couldn’t afford to take that risk. Not only that, but Naruto had been in trouble with law enforcement plenty of times for stupid things like supposedly loitering, and he had a bitter mistrust of the supposed protectors that trawled the streets.

Second option it was.

He decided to call Shikamaru Nara first. The exceptionally smart yet lazy teen had been placed in the group because his parents constantly fought and were now getting divorced. The custody battle they’d entered into was still ongoing, with no one bothering to ask the teen what he wanted amongst it all. His best friend’s mum had decided that he should go to the sessions to help cope- perhaps sensing a turmoil underneath the surface that he carefully kept hidden at his own expense- and he’d been too lazy to complain, a quirk of his personality that was all too clear from the moment you started spending time with him. He was someone you could trust in a jam though and he had a car that he drove to each session, battered as it was. He almost seemed proud of the thing, in his weird ‘I don’t care about anything’ way.

“Seriously?” the boy said once Naruto had called and explained the story. He paused briefly and fear flashed through Naruto. What if Shikamaru thought Sasuke wasn’t worth it?

He shouldn’t have worried.

“Okay you’re right I guess,” Shikamaru said, voice flat as always even as he destroyed Naruto’s fears. “Probably easy to just go and grab him. We’ll need some more people though. Listen, I’ll bring Choji, yeah, that Choji. He’s pretty big and kinda intimidating if he wants to be. Let’s see…I’m thinking five people is good. I’ll call Kiba, you get someone else. Seeya soon.”

He hung up before Naruto could say anything else, which would have been surprising if Naruto wasn’t used to it.

Kiba was a good choice for the rescue party. He was in the group because his dad had walked out on his mum when Kiba was pretty young, and they hadn’t heard from him since. She’d taken forever to get over it and at times, had taken out her misery on Kiba. She was working on it though- the whole family was- and Kiba was an amicable enough participant in the program thanks to her pleading. He loved her, he always said. She’d just had a hard time of it and sometimes that had meant she’d yelled at him, and sometimes she’d hit him. His older sister had looked out for him though, and because of this protection, Kiba was extremely protective and loyal to his friends- which apparently now included Naruto- and a good person to have on your side, even if he never went anywhere without his puppy Akamaru who sometimes forgot he was toilet trained.

A group was slowly forming but it wouldn’t be enough just yet. They needed more if they wanted to actually achieve their goal- the quick in and out ‘mission’ Naruto was envisioning.

Lee, Naruto decided. Good ol’ fellow orphan Lee who Naruto had bonded with in the first session. He was perfect, what with his intense knowledge of martial arts and constantly cheery behaviour that kept almost everyone optimistic even when things got serious during talks. There was no way Naruto wouldn’t be able to convince Lee to help.

He was on the phone in seconds, his hopes rising like evaporating water.

“Naruto, my operation is tomorrow…well today now,” Lee said apologetically.

And the rain fell.

Right! Of course. Naruto was so stupid. Lee was having a knee operation after doing his ACL and there was no way he could go gallivanting around town at night to rescue stupid, drunk, mourning Sasuke.

“Sorry Lee, I completely forgot,” he said regretfully. Four would have to do. The name Sound Five gave off the impression that there was five of them (duh) but Naruto was sure they could manage. They weren’t actually going to be engaging after all. They just needed a show of force.

“Listen, I’ll call someone for you. They’ll meet you at your place,” Lee said cheerfully.

“Who?” Naruto asked, trying to tie his shoes with one hand.

“Neji.”

Naruto paused.

Neji Hyuuga was not the nicest person in the world to be around at first. He was apparently Lee’s best friend- if that could be believed- but he never really spoke up at the sessions unless he was mumbling about fate and how this and that was destined. He snapped and snarked when asked to open up, and never wanted to hang out with Naruto and his group.

One day though, Naruto had bugged him to the point where the two were ready to fight. They’d even started to before they’d been pulled apart by their respective friends- Naruto by Kiba and Neji by Lee. And then the story had poured out.

Neji was part of a prestigious family -a clan even, which was apparently still a thing- and he was born into the lower section of it with his mother passing away during his birth. He’d ended up being cut out of her, the doctors having been told to save him instead of her. When he was but four years old, his clan tattooed his forehead with a Buddhist symbol (which had explained his silly head band, rendered no longer silly in hindsight) to show how he was a minority of the clan- their property. He still had somebody who loved him though. His father. Even with the miserable life they led, subservient to their own family, Neji’s father had made sure he gave his son the best upbringing he possibly could.

But then his father was killed.

He had then lived with his uncle, the head of the clan who also happened to be his father’s older twin brother and head of the clan. The man abused him mercilessly.  He’d eventually been removed by social services and sent to live with a foster family along with his cousins Hinata and Hanabi, his fellow victims to his uncle’s ruthlessness.

He was nicer now, and he and Lee got along because of their shared love of martial arts. Apprehensive as he was (Neji could still be really stuck up) Naruto reluctantly decided that with Neji added to their team, the Sasuke retrieval plan would go off without a hitch.

How very wrong he was.

When Shikamaru finally arrived, he had someone who was obviously Choji in the passenger seat of his car, with Kiba crammed awkwardly in the middle of the back seats and Neji behind the passenger. They’d obviously spotted the teen on the way over to pick up Naruto. Kiba greeted him with a high five, while Choji waved politely, and Neji shrugged off Naruto’s thanks.

“What pub Naruto?” Shikamaru asked as he fiddled around with the portable GPS in his car. Naruto watched the previous address vanish as the machine awaited its next destination.

“K Forest,” he said clearly, forcing any potential tremors from his voice. “Sasuke always goes there on the anniversary. Apparently it was their favourite pub.”

No one needed to ask about who Naruto was referring to. Sasuke never stopped talking about his parents and finding out who killed them and the rest of his family.

“So it’s just in and out. We’re here to look threatening,” Choji said as Shikamaru keyed in the location. “Right?”

“Pretty much,” Naruto said. “Shikamaru told you the story, right?”

“Yeah,” Kiba was rugged up in his usual huge coat with its furry hood. Akamaru was probably hiding in the hood, resting on Kiba’s head while he was still small enough to get away with it. “I can’t believe Sasuke’s dumb enough to agree to go with some of Orochimaru’s scum.”

“He’s not dumb, he’s drunk,” Naruto protested. “Come on Kiba, you’ve got drunk before.”

“Once or twice,” Kiba admitted. “But not out in public on my own. Mum found me once and I…I haven’t since.”

“Oh…” Naruto wondered if he should apologise for touching on a sensitive issue.

 “We’ve probably all gone a bit too far before,” Shikamaru said, eyes on the road. “But Sasuke should know better than to get drunk when he is underage and alone in town.”

“Sasuke is upset,” Naruto defended his friend. “We just need to get him back home safely.”

“Well we’re here, can you see him?” Shikamaru pulled into a free park across the road from the pub where music was still blasting despite the loud hour, and people were milling around the door.

“No,” Naruto peered out the window. “I hope he hasn’t left, we might have to go in.”

“How? They’re checking IDs,” Neji pointed out. “Does anyone have a fake?”

Everyone shook their heads apologetically. Sasuke clearly had to have one, but he’d never shared his knowledge with anyone else.

“Just ask for him at the door,” Shikamaru suggested. “With any luck, he’ll come out to us.”

“Out we get,” Kiba said cheerfully and the five seventeen-year-olds poured out and headed across to the club. As they walked, Naruto spotted Akamaru on his friend’s head as he’d expected, sleeping even though Kiba was moving around and the street was noisy and bright.

“Let me do the talking,” Shikamaru said. “Just stay behind me and look nice.”

Naruto looked at Choji’s swirled cheeks (either tattooed or exceptionally good face paint) and Kiba’s red triangles (starting to fade as his was definitely just paint) and his sharp pointed teeth (apparently a genetic issue). Then there was Neji’s abnormally long hair, bandaged limbs and pale eyes that made him look blind. Finally, there was Naruto’s six scars, three on each side of his face, giving the appearance of whiskers which would have been cute if it wasn’t linked to such a traumatic moment.

They looked anything but nice.

“Hello,” Shikamaru said to a bouncer standing at the door sporting a lazy look on his face that mirrored Shikamaru’s. “We’ve come to pick up a drunk friend of ours. Hair looks like a duck, probably been here all night, might be hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

“Where are we going to put Sasuke?” Kiba whispered to Naruto suddenly as Shikamaru described Sasuke to the man. “Shikamaru’s car only has five seats.”

“He’s drunk,” Naruto shrugged. “The boot I guess.”

Kiba gave a delighted laugh. It was no secret that none of the people helping Naruto particularly liked Sasuke. To them, he was self-absorbed, ridiculously selfish and a total asshole. Naruto admitted all of that was true, but there was also more to Sasuke then that. Everything that pushed people away was a front he put on to stop himself from being hurt again. Deep down he was caring, and brave. He could be funny, and sharp witted. He looked out for people despite claiming he didn’t, and despite how many times he and Naruto clashed, they were friends. And it meant a lot that his other friends were helping someone they did not care for.

“The bouncer’s gone in to get him away from those Sound jerks,” Shikamaru turned back to them. “I told him to just drag Sasuke out, had to show him some photos on my phone though so he could see who Sasuke was and to prove we were friends. The bars are the best place for people like Orochimaru to pray on young teens and I bet they don’t always take a front on approach like the people in there.”

“What?” Naruto said, momentarily confused.

“I’m saying a lot of people probably get taken advantage of by people pretending to be their friend,” Shikamaru explained.

“No I kinda got that. Kinda…but you have pictures of Sasuke?” Naruto burst out. “You hate him!”

“Well…yeah, maybe, but he’s a part of the group,” Shikamaru said, looking uncomfortable. “He’s been through a lot. I’m not going to shove him out of pictures or leave him behind at a pub, drunk out of his mind and at the mercy of a bunch of thugs just because he’s a bit of a dick.”

“Can I see the pictures?” Naruto asked eagerly. The lazy teen reluctantly handed over his phone.

He quickly found the album labelled ‘Dumb Therapy Group’ (a definite front for Shikamaru’s fondness for his friends, considering he’d cared enough to make an actual album in the first place) and began to flick through. The first were various pictures of the group leader Tsunade, a somewhat aggressive yet kind and protective woman, flashing a peace sign at the camera each time the camera was pointed her way. Then there was one of Lee and Naruto pulling faces. Kiba taking a selfie on the phone, a picture of Neji looking grumpy as Lee did his best to try and hug him. A silent boy named Shino standing next to Kiba who was brandishing Akamaru. A few selfies of Shikamaru with everyone that had come to rescue Sasuke bar Choji. There was a large group one that had Shikamaru in it, obviously taken by someone else. Sasuke was almost impossible to pick out as he lurked behind Naruto.

And then there was the picture of Sasuke in full focus, laughing with him. With Naruto. They both looked happy, ridiculously happy. Naruto didn’t bother to look through the other pictures. He’d seen enough. He was determined to get Sasuke home safely.

“Here he is,” the bouncer came out the bar with Sasuke draped in his arms. “Though those guys in there are right behind me. They obviously want to take him home as well. Better be quick about it.”

Naruto peered past the huge man to see four people heading their way. So the Sound Five only had four? They didn’t look so tough. If need be, Naruto was sure his friends could take them. There were three boys and one girl, each looking slightly drunk as they stumbled across to bar to the door. Guess they’d managed to get a few more rounds in while Naruto gathered everyone.

But suddenly, a fifth one appeared out of nowhere and they seemed much more menacing. This new person was wearing a fancy white robe that was utterly out of place amongst the other bar patrons, and walked with confidence that came from years of totally owning a room. He sent shivers up Naruto’s spine, running through his arms and setting him on edge.

“Let’s go,” Kiba said nervously. He could obviously sense the new threat too. Akamaru was awake and whining.

“Yeah,” Neji said. “Quick.”

The small group rushed across the road, dragging Sasuke with them who was by now, practically asleep on his feet. They had no choice but to go with Naruto’s suggestion and put him in the boot. Luckily Shikamaru had some blankets to wrap him in and removed the boot cover (divider, whatever it was, Naruto didn’t have a car of his own to draw reference from) so that he wasn’t cut off from the rest of the car and had plenty of air.

The others climbed back into their exact seats from before and buckled up, all satisfied that they’d saved Sasuke and could go home and sleep away the rest of the night.

“The road’s closed,” Shikamaru stared at the way they’d came. “What the fuck? We were literally just on it. We’ll have to go the long way now, the ravine path.”

“What happened?” Choji wondered aloud.

“Maybe a car accident.” Neji suggested.

“Bet it’s late-night road works,” Kiba said.

“What’s the ravine path?” Naruto asked as Shikamaru turned the car on with a deft flick of his wrist and started out the opposite way.

“It’s the long way out of town. There’s a road that goes past a really steep drop off into the Moko Forest, so it got nicknamed the ravine path. It’s basically a valley surrounded by roads. People even live down there, in the forest,” Neji explained in his know-it-all voice. “It’s pretty dangerous at night so we all need to be quiet and let Shikamaru concentrate when we get to it.”

“Hey guys, this car’s following us, I think. And it’s going really fast,” Kiba twisted in his seat to look out the back window. “I can’t be sure but it kinda looks like those guys that were following Sasuke.”

“Fuck,” Shikamaru swore again. “It was too much to think it was over and that they were going to give up on Sasuke, wasn’t it?”

“They’re gaining fast,” Neji reported. “I don’t want to break any speed limits but…” he was cut off as they entire car jolted.

“They hit us!” Choji gasped. “Well, bumped us. Shika, you might wanna speed up.”

The typically lazy teen seemed panicked, putting his foot down and picking up the pace despite his obvious distress at having to drive so fast.

“That sign, what did it say?” Shikamaru asked as they sped past a bright yellow display that lit up under the beam of his headlights. The roads were mostly empty as their vehicle struggled to avoid the Sound Five, an indicator how just how late it was.

“Ten kilometres to the Moko Forest Road,” Neji said. “We have to slow down.”

“They’re speeding up,” Kiba said angrily. “We can’t slow down.”

Another jolt ran through the car as their pursuers once again made contact with them. Naruto put a hand out to steady himself on the seat in front of him.

“Oh my god, we should call the police,” Choji struggled to grab Shikamaru’s phone.

“No!” Naruto shouted. “What good are they?”

“Naruto, they’re going to kill us.” Neji said, strangely calm despite the situation. “The police are our only option.”

“Choji, make the call,” Shikamaru ordered as he struggled with the wheel. “Kiba keep me updated on the Sound Five, Neji look out for turnoffs, Naruto, look after Sasuke.”

They were in this together. For a moment, Naruto had been worried that they were going to give Sasuke up. It would be the safest thing to do, all things considered. But nobody made any such suggestion, even with the Sound Five unafraid to use violent measures to get what they wanted. Neji was right. The police had to be called.

“About to hit Moko road, they keep bumping us…” Choji’s conversation came to Naruto in dribs and drabs, muffled by the blood roaring in his ears as adrenaline flooded his system. “…Orochimaru…”

“Still right behind us,” Kiba informed Shikamaru. “With no signs of slowing down.”

“No turnoffs, we’ve hit Moko road,” Neji said. Naruto peered out his window and saw a cliff wall. He couldn’t see anything out of Neji’s side as he and Kiba were mostly in the way, and the road was poorly lit, but he knew it was the drop off into the forest.

“They’re millimetres away from our boot again!” Kiba was nearly yelling. Akamaru was barking short, loud yips that filled the car.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, still dead to the world with no idea what was going on and what they were going through for him. Seemingly content and strangely innocent looking, he slept. They were going to save him. The police were being called. Everything would be alright.

And then he saw the teen on the bonnet.

It was the intimidating guy, his white robe fluttering in the breeze. He had somehow climbed onto the bonnet of their car and was reaching for Shikamaru’s boot.

“Are they crazy?!” Kiba yelled, seeing the exact same thing Naruto was.

“They’re gonna grab Sasuke!” Naruto screamed. “Lock the boot!”

A click echoed through the car. Naruto relaxed slightly. At least the jerks couldn’t get to Sasuke now.

“Speed up,” Kiba urged.

“Are you mad?” Choji was off the phone now and fully back in the conversation. “We’ll go right of the edge if we do.”

SMASH

Glass bit into Naruto’s cheeks as the boy on the bonnet smashed the back window with what appeared to be a baseball bat. He heard Akamaru whine and Neji yelp in startled pain. They were this desperate for Sasuke? What the actual hell?

“Grab Sasuke!” Shikamaru all but screeched as he tried to keep the car on the road. “We just need to get past the ravine.”

“The police are coming as fast as they can,” Choji reported.

“It’s not fast enough!”

The words meant nothing to Naruto at the moment. He, Kiba and Neji were trying to drag Sasuke into the middle section where they sat whilst the boy in the white robe tried to drag him out.

“Give up!” the teen yelled over the rushing wind that was entering the car and whirling around. He had the exact dramatic tone Naruto expected for someone willing to stand on the bonnet of a car speeding down a dangerous road. “He will be a gift for Orochimaru!”

“No!” Naruto yelled back. “I won’t let you!”

The boy gave an almighty tug that shouldn’t have been possible with his precarious perch, and Sasuke was ripped from their arms and out of the smashed window, glass scratching at his limp limbs. Naruto cried out as his hands grasped empty air. Only Kiba still had a grip, and Sasuke’s limp body briefly hung between the two vehicles.

It was at that moment that Shikamaru did the only thing he could think of. He swung the wheel violently and sent them jerking away from the other car, disturbing both Kiba and the bonnet boy’s grip, and letting the road have Sasuke. Miraculously neither car hit Sasuke, and the drunk boy was soon gone from their sight as the cars continued to whizz along. Dead or alive, who knew. For the moment though, he was out of the fight. Naruto barely had time to worry about his friend, too caught up in everything that was going on behind them.

The boy on the bonnet was wobbling as what little balance he’d had was disturbed, and then he fell. But he didn’t fall onto the road like Sasuke. He fell the opposite way, down into the ravine.

“Oh my god!” Choji screamed.

And that’s when the car increased its speed even more and drew alongside theirs, beginning to force them off the road.

“This is for Kimimaro!” the driver rolled down her window to yell, the words having barely any meaning to those remaining in the car. “We’ll kill you and then go back and get Sasuke. You’ll have died for nothing.

“Faster!” Kiba yelled again and this time no one was complaining. This was no drunk pick up now. This was a matter of life or death,

Again and again, the car rammed into Shikamaru’s. Each time they were forced closer and closer to the edge. At one point a wheel was hanging off.

Wind howled in their ears thanks to the large hole in the back windshield, challenged by Akamaru’s yowling and Naruto’s loud sobs for Sasuke as things began to sink in.

“Oh god, oh god,” Neji was staring out his window into the inky blackness that hid the trees of the ravine from view. He and Choji both had a perfect view of the darkness that potentially awaited them.

And then the car hit them a final time.

And they were teetering on the edge.

Blood roared in Naruto’s ears.

He saw the antagonising car flip abruptly, skidding like an overturned beetle until it hit the cliff wall and stopped.

“Fuck!”

“Shit!”

“Oh my god!”

The vehicle coughed weakly as though Shikamaru was wearing it out, trying to coax the huge part of it that was over the edge back onto safe ground.

“Die!” a scream came from the crashed car, as cliché as an old movie and yet as threating as a gun held to your head was.

And then they fell.

The world turned upside down on them as they fell. Naruto felt his head crack against the window as he became weightless in the car. They hit the ravine wall before bouncing up again to resume their free fall.  The car became a total mess on the inside, bodies flung everywhere, smashing into each other. Broken bits of glass pierced them as they jerked against their seatbelts. There was yelling and screaming as they fell and fell and then…

An ultimate crash…

A slight tilt…

A final scream dying away…

They fell to their last resting place…

And then…

…dead silence.

All that welcomed them at the bottom of the ravine was greedy darkness, sucking them down into its abyss.

His last thought wasn’t Sasuke though. It was…

It was…

               …           

                              …

                                             …

When he woke up, he was cold and he couldn’t see a thing. He knew exactly where he was though- even through the fog clouding his head. He was in a car at the bottom of a ravine and incredibly lucky to actually even be opening his eyes.

There was light coming from somewhere but it was dim and did nothing to help him see.

“Hello?” He called. There was no reply, just a calm quietness that settled over the car, except for a steady ‘drip’ that wormed its way into his brain.

Drip

Drip

Drip

It was coming from somewhere but he just didn’t know where. It was only because of his sense of smell that he soon came to realise it was not a cracked water bottle or rain just starting to fall. It was blood.

From the overload of coppery tang that invaded his nostrils, it had to be everywhere. He could imagine it now coating the windows and creating horrific images that would haunt his dreams.

The shock was wearing off and the pain was coming in, sharp and evil, ready to tear him apart. Along with the pain, there was a rush of emotions flooding through him. There was one that stood out though, one that threatened to consume his entire being above all else.

Naruto was scared.

He couldn’t see his friends, he didn’t know if they were alive or dead. He wasn’t sure if help was on its way, he didn’t know if he was going to live.

And what about Sasuke? Had the Sound Five survived their crash? Had they looped back and grabbed Sasuke. Was all of this for nothing.

In the dark, afraid and in pain, Naruto found himself bitterly agreeing with his friends. Sasuke was an idiot. Drinking himself into a stupor without any care for himself. He should have known better. And Naruto shouldn’t have dragged his other friends into this whole mess. He should have done it on his own, if he was so desperate to help.

Naruto reached out with trembling hands to see if he could feel anything. He was still in the car, he knew that much, but he felt as though he was hanging in a sense- like his seatbelt was the only thing keeping him in place.

His fingers brushed something warm and he let out a squeak. He felt fur and realised it was Akamaru. He kept his hand there, hoping to feel the rise and fall of his flank, proving that Kiba’s beloved dog was alive.

For a horrible heart stopping moment, he felt nothing.

Akamaru no!

Then he felt it. There it was! His hand was rising slowly with the weak breathing Akamaru was doing to keep himself alive. Oh thank god. Thank anyone. Akamaru was alive.

Reaching out again- past Akamaru- Naruto tried to feel for his friends. He brushed something almost artificially fluffy but mattered in places -Kiba’s coat maybe- but his hand didn’t make contact with anything resembling human skin. He gave up and just drew Akamaru into him, determined not to be alone. The dog let out a small whine but quickly went silent again.

He craned his head awkwardly to work out where the light was coming from. If it was a torch or something portable, he could use it to find his friends. After some wriggling, he spotted the source of the dim light.

A phone was lit up. It looked like Shikamaru’s. It was open to the picture album Naruto had been flicking through, the screen’s perfectness marred by long cracks that distorted the image shown. It was a picture of the five of them, not including Choji as he didn’t go to the group. Neji was on the edge, turned half away from the camera with a slight smile on his face. Kiba was on the other end, flashing a peace sign at the camera with a wide grin on his face, Akamaru perched on his head, mouth open in a silent bark. Shikamaru was next to Neji, hands resting behind his head as he smirked at the camera. Naruto was next to Shikamaru. He was positively beaming, so happy to be with his friends. And Sasuke was on Naruto’s other side, his smile small but there.

Stupid Sasuke. They’d sacrificed so much for him and he look what had happened. And what’s more, stupid Naruto. He should have told Iruka what Sasuke was doing. He should have stopped him much sooner. He should have been a better friend.

Naruto scrabbled for the phone and managed to get a hand around it. It illuminated his palm, covered in sticky red blood that coated the phone. He spun it around so he could work out what was going on.

And he screamed.

His first image was of a tree smashed right through the front windscreen. Its branches reached right into the back of the car where two sharp ones had driven themselves right into Kiba’s motionless body. Blood was soaking into his jacket, seemingly spreading rapidly.

He saw Shikamaru, pinned into the front seat by the crushed dashboard, eyes closed and face pale. He looked okay for what they’d just been through but there was blood everywhere. It coated all of the boy in dizzying arrays of sick, twisted art. The pattern of the splatter though…it couldn’t be Shikamaru’s.

Of course not, Naruto thought grimly as he turned his head slightly and was met with a horrific sight. It was Choji’s.

Choji’s door had buckled inwards, metal and steel slicing into the boy’s body. Blood and flesh sprayed the broken windscreen and interior of the car. It was one big horrid mess. Bile rose in Naruto’s throat but he held it in. He did not need to add vomit to the horrid smells attacking his senses.

Was Choji even alive? Surely, with all the bits of his body spread everywhere, he was dead.

But he couldn’t be dead! Choji couldn’t die! He didn’t even know Sasuke, he was just Shikamaru’s friend. And he’d seemed so nice and willing to help. He just couldn’t be dead. He had to still be breathing, he just had to.

Trying to ignore the wild panic roaring inside him, Naruto stroked Akamaru and moved his head to find Neji. When he saw his friend, he couldn’t help it.

He screamed again.

Another tree had driven itself through Neji’s side of the car. Two thick branches had not only stabbed the teen but impaled him, one through his stomach and one through his shoulder, entering from behind and coming out the other end. His body hung limp in their grip, his clothes soaked in coppery blood.

All his friends were dying!

He dropped the phone face down, the light cutting off abruptly as it was smothered.

“Help!” Naruto summoned up the strength to yell, suddenly unable to keep his fear inside him. “Somebody help us!”

A bird chirped in reply before a flutter of wings signalled its departure, but that was the only response he got.

“Help!” he called again. “Please! Can anybody hear me?”

“Na…ru…to,”

“Hello?” Naruto was losing his strength, the blackness was beginning to take him.

“Naruto…shut up…”

He summoned the last of his strength and screamed.

“HELP US!”

The echoes of his plea died away and with it, the last of his courage and power. He was going to die down in this ravine with his friends, all because he didn’t do the sensible thing and ask an adult for help instead.

“Naruto, why would anyone be down in the ravine? You should have saved your strength,” a weak voice, so quiet and small, spoke up.

“Shikamaru?” Naruto asked the darkness.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru confirmed, gasping out his reply. “Oh shit, we’re in so much trouble, aren’t we?”

Naruto didn’t reply, sensing this was one of those rhetorical questions his friend was so fond of. He just let the silence hang in the air as his entire being throbbed and Shikamaru’s harsh breathing got louder and louder.

“Naruto, the others…are they…alright?”

“No,” Naruto whispered, almost afraid to say it and yet knowing he had to. “I think…I think they might be dead.”

Another bird cried out as if mourning along with him. Shikamaru’s breathing rasped painfully, laboured gasps that spoke to how much pain he was in. Naruto thought he might have passed out, but then he spoke.

“No…I refuse…to give up…on them…” Shikamaru rasped, each word quieter than its predecessor.

Drip

Drip

Drip

“Choji called the police before we fell,” Naruto said softly- a small amount of hope amongst this raging ocean of despair. “They’ll work out what happened. They’ll come for us.”

“Of course…they will,” Shikamaru’s voice was nothing more than a breath now. “I need…to rest…now…”

“No, Shikamaru, stay awake!” Naruto cried. People like them, people hurt badly and disorientated, they weren’t meant to go back to sleep. All the medical shows agreed on it, and more importantly, so did the doctors Naruto had met before. “You have to stay awake, Shikamaru.”

Fading breaths answered his begging and the blond teen knew it was hopeless. Shikamaru was once again unconscious. At least…at least he wasn’t dead.

For now.

Naruto let himself go limp as the sharp wolves of pain ate at his body, stripping away his hope that had stayed strong even after his courage and strength had worn away. Bit by bit, they tore at him, ridding him of every naive thought he’d had.

The police are coming…

Everyone is still alive…

Sasuke is alright…

We’ll be alright…

We’ll be okay…

We’re going to make it out…

We have to…

Help me…………………………

Chapter Text

“Hey? Is anyone in there? Can you hear me?”

…

“Maybe it’s an old car crash.”

“Are you an idiot? We were here just yesterday, picking up supplies.”

“If you’re so worried, go look then.”

“People even live down there, in the forest.”

“Both of you shut up. We need to be moving on, the rain’s coming in.”

“Hey, you got Gaara to speak, Temari.”

“That was you, Kankuro.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. The squirt’s right, we need to move on.”

“I am not a squirt.”

“There might be people in there. I heard sirens before. I’m checking, alright. Wait for me.”

Rustling. A sharp intake of breath.

“Fuck…fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“What is it?”

“Kids! There’s five of them. And there’s blood everywhere. Kankuro, get up to the road and find out where those sirens were coming from. Then get them down here pronto. Gaara, get in here, we need to help them.”

“Temari…”

“Now!”

Someone was helping them, Naruto realised in his pain induced daze. He tried to open his eyes, to tell them to help Neji and Choji first. And then Kiba and Shikamaru. And to find Sasuke.

Naruto was going to be fine. He didn’t need their help. He was conscious again. His pain wasn’t that bad.

“Get the blond one out first, he’s not trapped,” a firm voice instructed.

“Are we meant to move people in accidents?”

“You want to leave him there?”

“…fine.”

Hands wrapped round him, pulled the seatbelt off of him with a crunching sound as the dried blood was disturbed.

“Help…the…others,” Naruto protested as he was lifted clumsily out the car. “I’m fine. ‘m fine.”

“He’s awake.”

“Mm.”

“There’s a dog as well? Shit, this is bad. I won’t be able to get anyone else out. We’ll need police, medics and firefighters to get them out. If they’re…still alive.”

NO!

He was on the ground, head spinning and the now familiar sensation of his stomach wanting to erupt washing over him.

The faint sound of sirens reached his ears, and relief briefly drove away his nausea. Anger was settling in as well, fed by desperation. His friends weren’t dead. They weren’t allowed to be!

Some time seemed to past then. Naruto drifted in and out of conscious. He was aware of his saviours trying to talk to him, to get details, but his mouth was glued shut and his eyes equally remained closed. He let them wonder about what had happened, too hurt and scared to try summoning the strength to explain. He just needed better help to arrive and to keep his friends from crossing over.

“Over here! We’re down here!”

Someone was coming! Help! Sweet, sweet help!

“Mitsuo, Mina, treat the blond one. You there, tell me everything you know.”

Hands were covering him, tugging at clothes, checking his pulse, wiping away blood.

“My friends,” he slurred. “Sasuke…fell off the car.”

“Is he talking about the boy we found on the road?” a voice asked another. He wanted to match a face to it, but his eyes remained stubbornly closed.

“Just relax please,” another voice said in reply, obviously to Naruto.

“I need jaws of life down here pronto! A saw as well!” The person talking proceeded to list off instructions, none of which Naruto really understood through the pain. He just knew they were working hard to save his friend’s lives and that was all that mattered.

“How the hell are we going to get them back up? The ravine wall is too steep for anything resembling a stretcher.”

“We know a path. It’s not too far from here,” the familiar voice of the girl that had first stumbled across them (Temari?) joined in.

“Great, lead Mitsuo and Mina to it. I want the blond one out of here. Takara, take the dog. We’ve nearly got the hooded one out of the car, he’ll go next.”

They were going to take him away from his friends.

“No…” he tried to shout. “My friends. Need to…help them…”

“Just go and send down everyone you’ve got. It’s a miracle these two are still alive. I don’t see it lasting much longer if we stay here.”

Neji? Choji? Kiba? Shikamaru? Who was she talking about? Deep down he knew though. He knew he might not be walking away from this with all of his friends.

Hands lifted him onto something, he rose in the air. With each jolt, new sparks of pain burst in his body.

The darkness was sucking at him now, dragging him down. His thoughts were repeating on him, his mind going in circles. Everything was just draining away.

With the knowledge that people were trying to save his friends, he allowed himself to let go.

When Naruto woke up, it was to the dull and repetitive sound of beeping. Its rhythm matched those horrid drips from the car and Naruto tried to move, to work out where he was. Surely he wasn’t still there…surely he hadn’t dreamed their rescue.

He unstuck his eyes and was met with a stark white roof. He turned his head slightly, painfully, and saw a collection of wires spread over the pillow his head rested on. Through the twisted maze was the odd burst of colours, forming blurry shapes. Flowers perhaps, or balloons.

It was obvious now that he was in a hospital. He was alive, he was okay. But that wasn’t what mattered.

It was his friends that he needed to see. He needed to know that he hadn’t led them all to an early grave.

It was killing Naruto to lie there, fearing the unknown.

Remembering the other times he’d been in hospital, mostly for dumb things caused by skateboard accidents and stupid dares from the other kids he lived with, he groped for a nurse call button, knowing there would be one close by. Naruto eventually slid his fingers across something that felt right and pressed randomly until he felt something give.

Hoping it had done the job, he slumped back against his pillows to wait. He was suddenly terribly afraid to know the answer to the question that pressed at his lips.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, growing louder in volume till they stopped right at his bedside. He looked up see a tall woman standing there, her dull eyes focused on some sort of whirring machine rather than him.

“Nothing bad,” she muttered to herself before finally switching her attention to Naruto. “Are you in any pain?”

“Not really,” Naruto said. His voice caught in his throat and he clenched his fists. “I just need to ask you something.”

She consulted a clipboard, ticking a few things here and there and scribbling down something.

“It’s about your injuries, right? You have three cracked ribs, a fractured radius on your right arm, heavy slashes to your arms and legs, broken right ankle and three broken fingers on your left hand. Plus, a severe concussion and serious bruising to your entire body. You are an incredibly lucky young man.” She listed it all off professionally, the last part as mechanical as a GPS.

“No, it’s not that,” Naruto’s head spun from taking in all the information about the damage to his body. He was already forgetting it. “My friends, they were all hurt really badly, how are they? They’re all still alive right?”

“I am not at liberty to disclose that information right now,” the woman said flatly.

“Well then make it your liberty right now,” Naruto snapped, trying to sit up and failing instantly. “Because it’s my fault we got into this fucking mess, and I need to know what I’ve done to them.”

“Please wait until you have a family member with you,” the woman said sternly. “You cannot take this news without support.”

This news…

Oh…oh no…someone had died. Oh no, oh no, oh no! Who had left him? Who had he killed?

“Listen, I don’t have any family,” he said through gritted teeth, willing her to understand. “I’m an orphan. And I can take this news without any stupid support. So you will tell me everything you know about my friends before I pull every single needles out of me and go find out for myself!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the woman said, finally looking like she was taking him seriously. Was it his imagination or had her face softened? “In the meantime, I’ll go fetch your guardian. He’s been waiting here since we called him in two days ago.” She left the room and Naruto was none the wiser as to the fates of his friends.

Nausea swirled in his stomach and he didn’t think it was from the concussion. Why had he called them? Why had he dragged everyone into Sasuke’s problems? He should have realised that Sasuke’s life was worth getting into trouble for. He’d been so desperate to protect Sasuke without damaging their friendship that he’d completely ignored any logical solutions to the issues at hand.

“God I’m so stupid,” he said out loud.

“Yes Naruto, very stupid,” a familiar, fond yet concerned voice piped up from the door. Naruto knew who it was instantly and instantly tried to fling himself forward again so he could cling to the one man he saw as a father.

“Iruka!”

“Oh Naruto, what have you done to yourself?” Iruka said sadly, moving into sight to sit in a chair next to Naruto. His hair was up in his usual ponytail, but his normally bright face was shadowed and dragged down by heavy bags under his eyes.

He must have been the family member the lady had been talking about. Come to think of it, she’d said something about two days. Had he been asleep that long?

“Iruka, I’m so sorry,” it hurt to speak but Naruto had to get it out. “All I was thinking about was Sasuke and I didn’t want him to get in trouble so I didn’t wake you up but I should have because I’ve hurt everyone now and none of them even like Sasuke, they were only doing it for me and I’m so stupid and no one will tell me what happened to them and I’m really scared Iruka. I’m really scared.”

“Naruto please, calm down. Now that I’m here, we can call a nurse or a doctor in and get all the information you need,” Iruka stroked a hand through Naruto’s hair, fingers catching on bandages. “Everyone back home is worried about you. They’ve made you cards and sent balloons,” he brushed the wires aside to show the helium animal balloons bobbing gently and the carefully crafted cards precariously lined up. Naruto couldn’t care less about those right now. He was stuck on something Iruka had said.

“…get all the information you need.”

“…you need.”

“…you…”

“Iruka, you know!” Naruto burst out. “You know what happened to everyone. Tell me. Now!”

“Naruto, I’m not allowed to tell you that,” Iruka said. “I’m going to call in your doctor. Please wait here. I’ll be right back.”

“Iruka! Please!” Naruto pleaded. “I need to know what I did to them.”

“What you did to them?” Iruka repeated disbelievingly. “Naruto this is not your fault. It is the fault of five reckless and blood thirsty individuals, and one confused teen too stuck in his own world to realise his new life was moving on without him.”

“But…”

“But nothing. You were doing what you thought was best and though I wish with all my heart you had woken me up or called the police or told me what Sasuke was doing earlier, I know you only had the best intentions, and I can’t find it in myself to be angry at you. Just…sad. Because I couldn’t help you or Sasuke,” Iruka brushed a hand across Naruto’s head again. “I love you, Naruto. Wait right here, I’ll be back and then you can know everything.”

He left quietly, solemn for once. Naruto replayed the words in his head. Iruka loved him. Loved him like a son. He supposed that he loved Iruka too. The man was stern at times and easy to rile up, but he cared so much for everyone, especially Naruto, that it was almost like you had no choice but to love him. That wasn’t a bad thing. It meant the kids at the care house like Naruto never felt alone whenever they were rejected by families looking to adopt or foster. Iruka was always there for them.

And he was here for Naruto now.

He had to be patient. Soon, very soon, he would know everything about his friends. It would either be good news, bad news, or a horrifying mix of both. Naruto begged with every fibre in his body for it to just be good news. He knew he couldn’t always be so lucky- his very life was proof of that- but if the world had seen fit to take so much from him already, then couldn’t it make up for that now?

Iruka re-appeared with a black-haired woman before Naruto could be dragged down into his thoughts any further.

“Naruto, this is Shizune,” Iruka introduced the two. “She’s one of the doctors who’s been overseeing you and your friends. She’ll be getting you up to date,” he sat back down and took Naruto’s right hand, the one without the broken fingers.

Naruto braced himself. He’d been hoping for good news- hoping for once the cards would fall in his favour- but deep down he knew that it would all be bad news. He just hoped he could take it without crying in front of the doctor.

“I have permission from the family of your friends to disclose this information,” Shizune said, unknowingly drawing out the agony of anticipation. “But you aren’t allowed to go sharing it around with anyone else. This has become a very high profile story in the media and we are doing our best to give you the privacy you deserve.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” Naruto said quickly. “Please, just tell me.”

Shizune drew herself up stiffly, fixing him with a look that was one part sternness, one part sympathy.

“Shikamaru Nara was as lucky as you, Naruto. His chest was somewhat crushed by the steering wheel but he avoided damage to his lungs. He escaped with seven broken ribs and four cracked ones. He has a broken finger, a severe concussion and a broken nose. He also has large gashes and intense bruising but he is expected to make a full recovery,” Shizune reported.

The relief Naruto felt at hearing that Shikamaru was alive was only dampened by the knowledge that she’d probably started with the good news which meant the worst was yet to come.

“Kiba Inzuka suffered two serious puncture wounds from tree branches. He lost a lot of blood from those, along with multiple gashes as a result of broken glass. His right wrist is broken. He had minor internal bleeding and severe bruising. We’re monitoring him for brain damage, but as of now it looks like all will be okay.  His dog is also on the mend, though, not at the hospital obviously.”

Kiba…Kiba was alive. After how awful he’d looked, pinned in place by the tree and bleeding out rapidly…it felt like a miracle. You didn’t get those often. Which meant…

“Sasuke Uchiha is fine apart from the terrible hangover he suffered, and a few scrapes and bruises, plus some lost skin that fortunately didn’t require any grafting,” Shizune said crisply. “He’s currently in police custody.”

“Why?” Naruto burst out. “I mean I know he got drunk and he’s underage but he didn’t hurt anyone. Why aren’t they talking to those Sound Five jerks?”

“Naruto, all of those ‘Sound Five Jerks’ are dead,” Shizune said sadly. “One of them fell into the ravine and was killed…” she paused briefly, glancing at Iruka who nodded somewhat hesitantly. “He was impaled on a tree. The car crash killed two and the other two were found dead the night after in the downtown areas where Orochimaru is rumoured to lurk. He probably killed them. Sasuke is our only hope of finding that man.”

“No…” Naruto whispered. “They can’t be dead. I mean, I know they were trying to take Sasuke but they were orphans too. They were sad and alone and…and Orochimaru took advantage of that!”

“I know,” Shizune said. “I know.”

She paused for a moment, glancing at her watch. She must have had more important things to do then tell Naruto about injuries she was better off treating.

“No wait!” he cried, before she could get up and go. “What about Neji and Choji?”

Please…please give me this miracle.

“I was just getting to that,” the doctor said calmly. “Though it isn’t exactly good news. For now, all I can tell you is that their list of injuries is extensive and they are both in medically-induced comas in critical, non-stable conditions.”

No…

No!

NO!

He was going to be sick. He was going to lose control!

“You mean…?” was all he could say, all he could ask of her.

“It is a miracle that they are still alive,” Shizune smiled sadly. “And I’m very sad to say that they might not be more much longer, of no fault but the circumstances they entered the hospital in. I’ll leave you and Iruka alone now Naruto. Please rest.”

“Wait, am I allowed to see any of them?” Naruto burst out. “I need to see them,” he clenched his bandaged fist, looking at the stretches of white that bound his arm. He wanted to tear it off and punish himself- he wanted to hurt like everyone else was hurting.

“We’ll see,” Shizune said. “Keep in mind Naruto, you’ve been unconscious for two days.”

“Right,” he fisted his hands into the sheets. “Just…if you can, please.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said formally. It wasn’t a yes but it wasn’t a no and that was all that mattered. Naruto nodded his thanks and watched her leave, shoulders slumped.

“The five of you,” Iruka began, apparently excluding Sasuke. “Well…you’ve done a number on the doctors and nurses. It was terrible. The news won’t shut up about you, as Shizune said. An orderly quit after seeing Choji brought in. They’re professionals, I know, but you’re just kids. Beautiful kids who’ve had lives altered drastically, and who have suffered so much,” he looked down at his hands and the two let silence fill the room.

“What has the news been saying?” Naruto asked eventually. Anything to take his mind off the uncertainty of his friend’s futures hanging over him.

“A lot,” Iruka said shortly. He frowned, as if angry at said news, before his face lit up suddenly. “I have something that might cheer you up.”

“What?” Naruto asked desperately.

“How do you feel about having some visitors?”

The three people who entered the room were unfamiliar at first, until the girl opened her mouth.

“You’re alright, blondie,” she beamed, adjusting her crop top and tugging at one of her four ponytails which she somehow made look good. Her voice was way too familiar. Naruto scrunched up his face, trying to remember.

“Te…mari?” her face brightened.

“Hey, you remember,” she said. “You were so out of it, I wasn’t sure you knew we were there,” she gestured to the boys standing beside her. “These are my younger brothers Kankuro and Gaara.” Kankuro was wearing some sort of beanie with flaps that hung down around his hears, coupled with smudged purple face paint and a cheery smirk. Gaara was dressed in total black (he even had black fingerless gloves) with smudged panda eyes, either achieved through makeup or an extreme lack of sleep. The three of them stuck out against the stark hospital walls.

“You saved our lives,” Naruto breathed, feeling tears prick at his eyes. He owed these people his life. They all did. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing,” Gaara mumbled. “We just happened to find you is all. Any person would have done the same.”

“Not everyone,” Naruto said honestly. “But you did.” Gaara looked away, blushing.

“It’s just good to see that you’re alright,” Kankuro broke in. “Well, mostly.” He gestured to the bandages with a laugh, which Naruto feebly echoed.

“So, you guys live in the ravine?” Naruto asked when the laughter died down. He was curious about how their life worked, living in such dense forestry. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to take his mind off of things.

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Temari nodded. “For…three years now?” she looked to Gaara for confirmation, who nodded to assure her she was right. “We…kinda got sick of the modern world, and we never got along with our family- they had too much power and influence for our liking. The ravine’s a nice place, and we have a deal with some shopkeepers to drop off supplies. We have a little hut, with a basement when the weather gets rough.”

“Sounds great,” Naruto smiled slightly, even though he wasn’t sure he really understood. The ravine wouldn’t have ramen stands so…but if it made his saviours happy, then good for them.

“It is.” Gaara answered quietly.

“So, have you seen the others?”

“Only…what’s his name? Shikamaru?” Temari said, getting a nod from Gaara. “He woke up yesterday and we dropped in briefly.”

“How’s he doing?” Naruto asked anxiously.

“Very confused, he has a bad concussion,” Temari said. “Hard for him to breathe as well, and talk, so we didn’t stay long.”

“If you see him before I do, tell him…tell him I’m sorry,” Naruto fiddled with one of his many bandages. Temari made as if to say something, to protest even, but Gaara held up a hand to stop her.

“We will,” he said simply.

“Thank you…” Naruto’s head was beginning to feel like someone had stuffed it full of cotton buds. He blinked furiously, trying to stay awake, but to no avail. He’d used up too much energy and now it was leaving him all at once. His eyes slid closed and the quiet voices of Iruka and the three siblings faded away. “Thank you…” he whispered again before sleep finally took him and the darkness swarmed.

His dreams swirled around him, distorted images of Sasuke crying in a jail cell, two tombstones on an otherwise deserted hill, an ownerless dog dragging a leash down a street, an abandoned shoji board with its pieces scattered everywhere.

There’s a price to pay for compassion and mercy…always…always…

Then the dreams seemingly faded away and Naruto slept on in relative peace.

He slept for a long time (apparently) and when he woke up his room was empty. There was a new bouquet of flowers on the bedside table, exotic looking, with a simple message on a torn piece of paper.

These flowers grow in the ravine, they’re quite pretty I think. Get well soon, Naruto.

• Gaara

Naruto smiled weakly, and then fumbled for the nurse call button. Before he could click it however, the door to his room swung open and Iruka stepped in with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Iruka!”

“Naruto, good to see you awake,” Iruka smiled back.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Another day,” Iruka sighed and sat back in his chair.

“What?” Naruto hated the idea that he’d slept through a whole day. “Has anything happened?”

“No new news Naruto, sorry,” Iruka said, sipping at his hot drink. “But the police want to talk to you, and Tsunade wants to visit as well.”

“I need to see the others first,” Naruto begged. “I’m the one who’s the most okay, it makes sense for me to go see them. Please, Iruka. Even if it’s just Shikamaru. I need to see him.”

Iruka sighed and set the coffee on Naruto’s bedside table amongst the flowers and cards. He fixed the teen with a serious look.

“Shikamaru will have to wait. The police desperately need to talk to you. Those other children who chased you all died, Shikamaru can barely talk, Kiba is still unconscious, and Neji and Choji are at death’s door. You’re the only one who can tell them what happened right now.”

“What about Sasuke?” Naruto asked desperately.

“He was drunk the whole time, he couldn’t remember anything helpful past the bar,” Iruka said gently. “It has to be you. A doctor will clear you now, the police are outside.”

“Iruka, no!”

“I’m sorry Naruto. I know it’ll be hard, but the police need answers…and you need to stay out of jail. You guys might get in some serious trouble, you know.”

“We didn’t do anything!”

“I know, and the police will too, when you tell them.” Iruka ran a hand comfortingly through Naruto’s hair. “You’re so brave Naruto, you can do it.”

Brave…Iruka thought he was brave. That wasn’t right though, because Naruto was stupid and selfish and a danger to the people around him. He was cursed to hurt the people he loved. Maybe he belonged in jail. Maybe he deserved to be punished.

“O-okay. Let’s get this over with then,” Naruto forced a smile and took a few deep breathes. Iruka called for Shizune who gave Naruto the all-clear to answer some questions, though she told the police that if Naruto got too upset, the questioning would be over. She stayed in the room to monitor his condition, occasionally silencing a beeping pager.

“So, son,” a tall man licked his finger and flicked to a page on his note pad. “Tell us what happened.” His partner, a grim looking woman, folded her arms and cocked her head to the side. Naruto swallowed nervously and tried to give them another smile, an even weaker one this time.

Going back to that night would be tough. He was going to have to give them details on events that he’d rather forget about. The things his friends were still going through were upsetting enough to bring tears to his eyes, but he knew this was something he had to do. He’d gotten them into this mess, and now he’d get them all out. Even if it cost him his freedom, it had to be done.

Iruka believed in him. And by doing this, he might finally be able to do some good.

“I’ll take you back to that night. I’ll tell you everything.”

Naruto grinned at Iruka as the man wheeled him through the halls of the hospital. They were off to see Shikamaru, who Naruto had demanded to see the moment his talk with the police had ended. In the end, he’d had to live through Tsunade visiting (he’d cried and she’d cried and then she’d told him off and given him a big hug) and then he’d slept through another night, but he was finally on his way.

“You have to be calm, Naruto,” Iruka said for the fifth time. “He can’t breathe very well, you need to be patient.”

“I know Iruka, I know,” Naruto sighed. “This is like, the fifth time you’ve told me. Just hurry up. You’re taking forever.”

Iruka tutted but the wheelchair began to move a little faster. A small victory for Naruto.

They arrived at a room that seemed no different than any other, and Iruka knocked on the door. There was no answer at first, before a voice croaked out…

“Come…in…”

Naruto could barely hear who had spoken, so it must have been Shikamaru with his broken ribs and crushed chest. Iruka pushed open the door and together they entered the small room.

Shikamaru was sitting up, his bed in an elevated position to help with his breathing. Much like Naruto, he was hooked up to confusing machines that beeped and bleeped to remind everyone that Shikamaru was alive. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, revealing his bandaged chest, and his eyes were hazy, his spiky hair sticking up from the tight bandage wrapped around his head.

“Naruto,” he wheezed. “You’re okay. They told me…you were…but I wouldn’t believe it…until I saw you.” He broke off to cough harshly, body shaking harshly with the effort and pain the fit brought.

“Me too,” Naruto looked up at Iruka who wheeled him closer. Reaching out to grab Shikamaru’s hand, (and being careful not to grab the one with the broken finger) the two sat there in silence, enjoying the fact that they were still alive, still together after everything they’d been through.

Finally, Shikamaru spoke again.

“Have you seen…Kiba yet?”

“No,” Naruto bit his lip nervously. “Apparently he’s not awake yet. And…we don’t know if Neji and Choji are going to live.”

“I know…” Shikamaru rasped. “Shit…fucking hell…why did this have to happen?” Tears gathered in his eyes but stubbornly refused to fall. “Why? Why?”

“I’m sorry,” Naruto felt like sobbing himself. “It’s all my fault, I was so stupid to think that we could fix things ourselves. It’s my fault you’re all so hurt. I’m so sorry, Shikamaru. How…how can you even stand to look at me?”

“We all make a choice Naruto…” the teen croaked. “We all agreed to help you. How…how is it your fault? Spend more of your energy…blaming the teens who sent us over the edge…then blaming yourself.”

“But we never would have been there if it wasn’t for me,” Naruto said bitterly. “You would have been safe. You wouldn’t be here.”

“Neither would Sasuke.”

Naruto’s eyes widened.

“We’re gonna get through this Naruto,” Shikamaru said softly. “We have to,” he smiled weakly. “Have faith in yourself.”

“How can you be so sure?” Naruto managed to get out.

“I’m not,” was all Shikamaru said, eyes fluttering closed. The uncharacteristic smile on his face drained away. “I’m sorry, but I’m really not.”

“Kiba is awake.”

“What?” Naruto struggled in his bed, trying to tug the wires away for the fiftieth time. He knew they were there for his own good but he didn’t like how trapped they kept him. Iruka’s gentle hands stopped him.

“He woke up yesterday but only remained conscious for about five minutes,” Iruka began, only to be interrupted by Naruto.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said.

“Because Kiba needs his rest,” Iruka said. “You would have demanded to see him no matter what, but he wasn’t ready then. He was too disorientated to have visitors. Even if he had been able to, priority goes to his mother and sister first.”

“But now?” Naruto asked eagerly.

“No, not yet,” Iruka shook his head. “Sorry Naruto, he’s too weak to see anyone apart from immediate family. You’ll just have to be patient.”

“I don’t know how to be,” Naruto said grumpily.

“I’m sure you can learn,” Iruka laughed softly. “Just be happy that he’s awake. It’s still touch and go with Neji and Choji.”

“Don’t remind me,” Naruto said.

“The mere fact that they’re alive right now is a good sign,” Iruka reminded him. “You kids are incredibly lucky.”

“I wouldn’t call this lucky,” Naruto said, gesturing at his damaged body.

“Perhaps not.”

“Everything’s going to be different after this,” Naruto whispered. “Everything will change.”

“Isn’t change a good thing?” Iruka tilted his head, reminding Naruto of the teacher he’d apparently once been.

“Not like this” Naruto said. “Never like this.”

“I see,” the man sighed. “I’m sorry things turned out like this, Naruto. This isn’t an easy thing to process, I understand that. Right now you think you’re so unlucky but look around. Look how lucky you are to be alive.”

“I hope we stay that way,” Naruto said harshly. “I hope I didn’t get us all killed.”

“Naruto…” Iruka said. “I…please, don’t blame yourself.”

“How can I not?!” Naruto burst out. “Look what I’ve done to them all!”

“No one blames you Naruto. Those at fault are paying the price.”

“But so are we. Because we’re the ones at fault.”

“You can’t say that, Naruto! You were just trying to help Sasuke!”

It was the same words over and over again. It was all he could think of. The deaths he’d caused...they’d haunt him forever.

“Iruka, please,” Naruto whispered even as his mind replayed the car jerking violently and the white-haired boy falling into the ravine. “I need to be alone right now.”

“But…”

“Please,” Naruto begged.

“Alright,” Iruka said reluctantly. “I’ll let you know when Kiba’s up for visitors.”

“Thanks.”

Iruka left the room and Naruto closed his eyes. He felt too weak to keep them open, but he was too wired to sleep. For now, he would rest. He would rest and try his hardest not to let the dark thoughts consume him. A trail of dead bodies followed the path they’d taken that night, and it looked like that number would continue to grow.

Choji…Neji…

All his mind could focus on was the crash and his friends. He couldn’t move past it. He wasn’t sure if he ever would be able to.

The next day Naruto went for a ride around the hospital in his wheelchair. He felt bored and restless from being cooped up in his room, forced to look at the same white walls for hour after hour. Iruka probably wouldn’t approve but he had to devote most of his time to the care home, so he hadn’t been able to visit Naruto on this particular day. The nurses smiled fondly as he trundled through the halls, not really sure where he was going. It was hard to move fast when he could only really use one arm and he was attached to weird bits and bobs sticking to the chair, but he made do.

At one point he found himself outside Shikamaru’s room. He raised a hand to knock but a passing nurse stopped him.

“He’s not in there at the moment,” she explained. “So the room’s having a clean.”

“Where is he then?” Naruto lowered his hand slowly.

The nurse shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure but he’ll be back eventually.”

Naruto thanked her absently and wheeled himself away. Maybe he could find Kiba’s room instead. Surely the boy would be up for a visitor that wasn’t his family by now. It didn’t matter that Naruto wasn’t exactly sure where said room was, he’d find it eventually if he just kept knocking on random doors.

As Naruto travelled the corridors, knocking on doors and failing to find Kiba, he found himself stopping at a glass door that needed a button pressed in order for it to open. Black lettering spelled out ‘ICU’ on the door and beyond it, doctors and nurses bustled around, pushing gurneys and racing to attend to patients. Naruto realised with a start where he was.

Intensive Care Unit

That was where Neji and Choji were, fighting for their lives with the help of doctors and modern medicine. Naruto was tempted to shove the button and invade the unit to see his friends but deep down, he knew that doing so would do more harm than good. Finding Kiba was his mission right now. He could see Neji and Choji when they got better.

If they got better...

Naruto scowled at appearance of the voice in his head. He didn’t like doubting himself. He’d always been too confident for that. Had one car crash really changed his personality so drastically? Was he never going to be himself again?

He hunched over for a moment, fingers knotted in his hair. There were too many damn questions that needed answering. It was making his head hurt, just thinking about it. If only there was a way to turn back time. Naruto would give up anything to be able to turn the clock back to that night when he’d answered the call from Sasuke and eavesdropped on the conversation he’d been having with the five teenagers. Then he’d do things differently. He’d go to Iruka for help and wouldn’t even think about calling Shikamaru or the others.

“Are you alright?” a concerned voice asked. Naruto managed to look up and saw a nurse staring at him. He looked helplessly at the ICU and the nurse frowned. “You can’t go in there. I’m sorry. Can I take you somewhere else?”

“Uh...Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka’s room. Do you know where it is? I need to see him. Please, it’s urgent!”

“Right...” the nurse looked around. “I’m not sure who that is but I can go find someone who does. Follow me.”

The two moved away from the ICU, Naruto casting a longing look over his shoulder before they turned a corner, and it vanished from sight. Neji and Choji would just have to wait a little longer. For now, Kiba came first. The nurse who was helping him tracked down an orderly and got directions from them to Kiba’s room.

Naruto was buzzing with adrenaline in his wheelchair now. He was going to see his friend! His friend who’d survived the horrible crash. The awful gaping wound in Naruto would surely close itself up a little more once he saw Kiba, awake and coherent.

“Just in here,” the nurse stopped at a door not too far down from Shikamaru’s. “I was told that this patient needs his rest. Try not to excite him.”

“Of course,” Naruto promised, reaching up for the doorknob.

The nurse shifted uncomfortably, glancing at their watch. “Can you make it back to your room on your own? I’m meant to be in oncology at the moment.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said easily, finally getting a good grip on the handle and twisting sharply. He pushed the door forward and wheeled his way into the room.

The nurse left in a rush, but Naruto barely registered it. He only had eyes and ears for the boy in the bed.

The room he’d entered was dimly lit as though the light had been causing a hindrance to the occupant. There were a few of the standard hospital machines taking up space in the room that beeped dutifully every moment or so. A helium balloon was sinking lower and lower to the floor as the gas slowly escaped, and some drooping flowers were dropping their petals already. Empty chairs had been discarded in the corner. There were no visitors to be seen. The atmosphere was depressive, but it barely registered to Naruto. He was too happy to see Kiba.

Said patient was propped up against multiple pillows, dressed in traditional hospital garb with his trademark jacket draped carefully over the top. His eyes were closed, and his breathing sounded painful. Naruto probably shouldn’t be waking his friend up, but patience had never been one of his virtues as Iruka was always reminding. Kiba would just have to deal with his sleep being interrupted. 

“Hey Kiba!” Naruto said loudly, getting himself closer to the bed. “It’s me, Naruto! Wake up buddy!”

Kiba’s eyes remained stubbornly closed and his breathing, while harsh, did not falter. Naruto’s smile slipped away, and he was soon right next to the boy.

“Kiba, it’s me,” he said again, softer this time. “I bet you can hear me. Stop being a jerk and playing dead.”

He reached out and shook Kiba cautiously. His friend looked really shit. The gown hid the worst of the injuries, since that was where the tree branches had stabbed him, but his exposed face and arms were proof enough that Kiba had been lucky to make it out. Naruto hated to think what Neji and Choji looked like then.

“Kiba,” he said again, raising his voice to match his initial volume. “I’m not leaving until you tell me how you’re feeling. Wake the hell up.”

“Urgh...” a familiar voice groaned. “Whazzit?”

“Kiba!” Naruto exclaimed, delighted that he’d managed to rouse his friend.

“Naruto?” Kiba’s eyes opened briefly before instantly shutting again. “What’re you doing here?”

“Visiting you,” Naruto leant forward in his wheelchair.

“Kay...”

Kiba’s voice was rough and quiet, as though the crash had somehow damaged it as well. He didn’t seem all that there, but Naruto was determined to hold at least a small conversation.

“How ya feeling buddy?”

“Shit,” Kiba muttered. “Like I got stabbed.”

Naruto laughed weakly. “That’s because you did. By a tree branch. Two of them in fact.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kiba kept his eyes closed but his voice got stronger the more he spoke. “What happened to you?”

“Three cracked ribs, a fractured radius on my right arm, heavy slashes to my arms and legs, broken right ankle and three broken fingers on my left hand. Plus I had a severe concussion and there’s a shit ton of bruising to my entire body,” Naruto recited mechanically, mimicking the nurse who has first told him all that. “So it’s not all that bad. I can move around and stuff. Anything else you need to report apart from the whole stabbing part?”

Shizune had given Naruto Kiba’s list of injuries but he couldn’t help wondering if she’d left anything out.

“Um...lots of bruising as well, quite a few gashes...something’s broken, can’t remember what. They thought I had brain damage for a bit but apparently not. Lost a lotta blood so I’m really weak at the moment. Can’t really move my head because of whip lash,” Kiba said slowly. “Don’t…don’t sit in the middle of an old car if it’s going to crash…the seatbelts are…shit.” It sounded like it was taking him a lot of effort to remember what had happened to him, and even then, he forgot bits and pieces and drifted off on tangents. Naruto hoped he was being monitored closely because it sounded like Kiba’s brain wasn’t exactly working like it should have been despite having been cleared of brain damage.

“I’ve seen Shikamaru,” Naruto decided that news on their other friends would probably cheer up the despondent Kiba. “His chest got crushed and he had lots of bruising and gashes and such as well, but he’s awake and going good.”

“Cool...”

“And Neji and Choji are in the ICU but I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

I hope...

“Naruto...” Kiba’s eyes opened briefly once more. “I’m too tired to stay awake. Sorry. Maybe we can talk some other time.”

Naruto visibly drooped. “O-okay. That sounds good. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He said, forcing a smile. “You rest up and get better.”

“I’ll try,” Kiba smiled weakly. Nothing visibly changed in his breathing or demeanour, but Naruto knew that Kiba wasn’t with him anymore. He hadn’t even asked about Akamaru.

Naruto left the room sadly. He had to face the facts. Nothing was going to be the same anymore. Everyone was changing and it was his fault.

It’s all your fault!

“I know!” Naruto said out loud, startling a girl with purplish hair and pale eyes standing nearby. She looked vaguely familiar. “Sorry,” he muttered and was about to move on when she held out a hand to stop him.

“A-are you N-Naruto?” she asked, pressing the tips of her index fingers together.

“That’d be me,” Naruto said, struggling to work out where he’d seen the girl before.

She visibly brightened, straightening up to smile at him. “My name is H-Hinata Hyuga. You know my cousin, N-Neji.”

Of course! She was Neji’s cousin. They had the same eyes, pale and ghost-like. She’d come to a session once but had decided that it wasn’t really for her. Kiba had taken a liking to her though and had been sad when she hadn’t come back.

“Hi,” Naruto said, suddenly feeling just as shy as she looked. It was his fault that her cousin was dying. Why did she look so happy to see him?

“How are you f-feeling?” she asked, stepping closer.

“I’ve been better,” Naruto said honestly, looking her up and down. “How are you?”

Her face dropped and Naruto cursed himself for being insensitive. Of course she wasn’t alright. She’d lived through a horrible childhood and now her protector was lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life because he’d got caught up in something that had nothing to do with him.

“I believe I’ve been better t-too,” she answered, pressing her fingers together even harder. “I would be happier if they’d let me s-s-see Neji but I’m not allowed too at the moment.”

“Why not?” Naruto burst out. “It’s not like he’s contagious or anything? What’s the problem with you seeing him, even for just a few minutes?”

“I’m n-not sure,” Hinata admitted. “I didn’t actually ask why I couldn’t.”

“Let’s go ask again then!” Naruto said to her cheerily.

“Oh but we couldn’t possibly…”

“Nope!” Naruto cut her off. “No objections. You’re seeing your cousin today. Right here, right now. I’ll convince the doctors to let you in. If they don’t, I’ll throw a tantrum and rip out my stitches or something.”

Hinata gasped in shock. “Don’t do that,” her face softened into a smile. “But...thank you. Neji talked about you sometimes, you know. About what you were like. You sounded too good to be true, but he was right. You are impossibly kind.”

“Eh?” Naruto gaped up at her. “Neji talks about me?”

“He talks about all of you,” Hinata said, casting a longing look in the direction of the ICU. “That support group means the world to him, n-not that he’d ever admit it.”

“But you can tell?” Naruto asked.

“I can tell,” she said small smile widening. “Neji is sometimes incredibly easy to read. He’s sensitive, you know?”

“He can be really tetchy,” Naruto said uncertainly.

“Well, yes,” Hinata concluded. “But he’s just afraid to get hurt again.”

He has been hurt again, and I did that to him.

“Anyway, let’s go get you into his room,” Naruto pushed at his wheelchair, struggling to build up momentum. Hinata reached out tentatively as if to push it, but he shook his head.

“I can do it,” he insisted.

“I want to help,” Hinata said softly.

“Please,” Naruto hated how weak he felt. “Just let me do it.”

Hinata didn’t say anything more, merely fell back with an unreadable look on her face. She trailed after him as he struggled to keep up a moderate pace as they made their way towards the ICU. Both didn’t voice their worries aloud, but they were both afraid that they would be turned away once more.

To Naruto’s surprise, Shikamaru was sitting outside the ICU in a wheelchair of his own. His hair was down in a look that Naruto had never seen before, hanging in a tangled curtain around his face and his sharp eyes were fixed down the corridor.

“Shikamaru!” Naruto called, coming to a stop beside him.

Shikamaru turned, looking Naruto and Hinata up and down. “Yo,” he said eventually. “Why are you guys here?”

“Hinata wants to see Neji,” Naruto answered for the girl. “How bout you?”

“Choji woke up.” Shikamaru said flatly. His tone was a contrast to the exciting news he’d just dropped on them.

“What? He’s awake! Why did nobody tell me?” Naruto wished he could seize Shikamaru in a hug.

“Probably because they couldn’t find you,” Shikamaru’s voice remained the same but his eyes twinkled briefly. “The doctors are checking if I can see him.”

“Me too!”  Naruto exclaimed. “I wanna see him too!”

“I don’t even know if I can yet. Calm down,” Shikamaru huffed.

“And N-Neji?” Hinata ventured, looking hopeful.

“I’m sorry.” Shikamaru truly sounded as though he meant it. “There’s been no news.”

Chapter Text

No news.

Naruto was starting to wonder if there ever would be any news. Would Neji slip out of his life, just like his parents had? Why did the people Naruto loved have to keep getting hurt? Was he really some sort of curse? Should he just go and live the rest of his life alone?

“We just have to wait,” Shikamaru’s voice was hoarse and tinged with sadness. “We had to wait for Choji and now we have to wait for Neji. There’ll be news eventually. I’m sure of it.”

“I just w-wish I could see him,” Hinata hugged herself. “Just so I can be sure that he’s alive.”

“I could pull a few strings,” Shikamaru mused.

“Huh?” Naruto gave him a puzzled look. “How?”

“My parent’s company provides medicine for hospitals. They have a lot of power here as well. Dad used to be a surgeon,” Shikamaru said.

“I didn’t know that,” Naruto said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It never seemed important,” Shikamaru shrugged. “Besides, I don’t have to tell you guys everything.”

“But I like to know,” Naruto said. He loved his friends and wanted to know everything about them. That was what friendship was. Trust and communication. Laughter and mindless chatter.

Living in the moment.

No secret keeping.

“It’s not even a secret,” Shikamaru went on like he’d read Naruto’s mind.

“Whatever,” Naruto grinned, to let Shikamaru know that he was just teasing.

“So, do you really think you could get me in to see Neji?” Hinata asked.

“Sure,” Shikamaru said lazily. “No biggie.”

Naruto knew however, that this was a big deal for Hinata. She was about to see her cousin who every day since the crash, continued to defy the odds by clinging on to life. This was the boy who had suffered so much in life and was still suffering.

And that was Naruto’s fault.

Suddenly feeling the weight of the world on him, Naruto turned his chair round slowly, intending to head back to his room.

“You’re coming too, right?” Hinata asked hesitantly. Naruto looked back at her. She was standing there, fingertips pressed together as she waited for his answer.

And yes, Naruto wanted to see Neji. He wanted to see with his own eyes that the boy was getting treatment, that he was recovering. But at the same time, he couldn’t. Because he was going to see his friend clinging to life. And it was Naruto who had put him there.

“Another time,” Naruto tried to say casually but his voice broke as sobs welled up in his throat. Hinata’s eyes shone.

“This time,” she said quietly. “Please.”

What if there isn’t another time?

“Okay,” Naruto said. “Because you asked nicely. Not because I want to or anything.”

Liar…

Hinata reached for the handles of his wheelchair and this time, Naruto didn’t stop her.

“Will you come in with us Shikamaru? If w-we can go in?” Hinata asked.

Shikamaru hesitated, hands stilling on the wheels of his chair. Then he shook his head.

“I have to see Choji.”

Naruto could sense something in his voice. Something thick and unfamiliar. Regret?

“Come on,” Shikamaru said, voice back to its bored tone. “Lemme find a doctor I know.”

He wheeled himself away -a lot easier than Naruto could manage- and Hinata followed, still pushing Naruto’s chair.

Shikamaru found a doctor he knew and after much needling and begging, pleading and bargaining, and a moment where Shikamaru had actually shouted, all three were clear for a brief visit to the ICU to see Choji and Neji. If Naruto hadn’t been so nervous, he would’ve been buzzing with excitement. Instead, his stomach swirled. His friends meant everything to him. They were his family now, after he’d lost what little he had when he’d barely entered the world. Naruto couldn’t lose anyone else.

And if this was how he felt, then he could barely imagine what Hinata was going through.

Naruto tried to distract himself by looking around the ICU. It seemed huge but Naruto didn’t have anything to compare it to. He’d never needed to be in one. There was tons of activity as well, in comparison to the area of the hospital Naruto had been staying in. Doctors and nurses rushed to and fro. They took no notice of the small group of people navigating the space. Most of the rooms didn’t have doors and the ones that did had large glass windows, with blinds for privacy.

“It’s to allow easier access,” Shikamaru explained when he noticed Naruto looking quizzically at the spaces. “Privacy comes second to survival.”

Logically that made sense but seeing so many patients in various forms of distress was incredibly upsetting. Moans of pain swirled around Naruto and he had to resist the urge to shove his hands over his ears and scream. It was almost too much.

“This is where we part ways,” Shikamaru said dryly when they arrived at the room Choji was staying in. The nurse that had been assigned to watch over them glanced at her watch and then down at the wheelchair bound boy.

“I trust you to wait here until I come to get you,” she said firmly, and Shikamaru nodded.

As the nurse gave him a rundown of the rules, Naruto stared into room and at the bed where Choji lay. He couldn’t see much from his low vantage point. And what he did see wasn’t what he wanted to. There were so many machines, way more than Naruto and Shikamaru and even Kiba needed. They beeped loudly, joining the cacophony of noise that Naruto still couldn’t ignore. The sheer amount of them meant that Choji was all but hidden from sight. Naruto could see the end of the bed but that was it.

“Let’s move on. This is just a quick trip,” the nurse said once Shikamaru had wheeled himself inside. Hinata grasped the handles of Naruto’s chair and they set off once more.

Neji’s room was only a few metres away from Choji’s. It was right next to a desk that seemed to be the command centre for the ICU. People were moving in and out from it, collecting charts and dropping off information. A man was hovering in the doorway of Neji’s room, making notes on a clipboard. He spun around at the sound of them approaching and frowned. His positioning made it impossible for Naruto to see his friend.

“Mr Hyuga hasn’t been cleared for visitors,” he said. “Not until we’re sure he’s one hundred percent stable.”

Behind Naruto, Hinata gasped. Maybe she’d caught sight of her cousin.

“It’s just a quick one. To reassure them,” the nurse said impatiently. “Three minutes. That’s all they need.”

“Fine,” the man snapped. “Keep them out of walkways though. You never know what might happen.”

“Funny. I do, actually,” their nurse said back tetchily.

The man stepped aside to let them in and that’s when Naruto finally saw Neji.

Naruto didn’t need to be a doctor to know it was bad. The machines were his first clue, and then the actual sight of his friend was just further proof of how badly Neji had been hurt. Hinata was already crying softly, even as she stepped forward to get closer to her beloved cousin.

There was just as much medical equipment crowding the room as Choji had. Naruto couldn’t get close to the bed because there was no space for his chair amongst the bulky machines. The flashing lights made Naruto’s head spin so he tore his gaze away. He didn’t know what they were for, just that they all played a part in keeping Neji alive.

Thanks to the elevation of Neji’s bed, Naruto was able to see his friend clearly, even from a distance.

Neji’s long dark hair was clumsily braided and tucked out the way for easier access of the many tubes and cords he had hooked up to him. His horrible tattoo was on display for everyone to see. His eyes were closed, and his face was a sickening pale grey that reminded Naruto of a zombie from low budget horror films like the ones he and Sasuke would stay up late to watch. He was shirtless and his chest was swathed in layers of crisp white bandages. Any other situation would have found Naruto making a mummy joke at the sight of the wrappings. Now thought, Naruto just pictured crimson red expanding from the holes in Neji and shuddered.

An oxygen monitor was clipped to Neji’s finger. Naruto followed the cord to the monitor that was displaying Neji’s vitals. Lines bounced up and down but Naruto had no idea what they meant. The same hand also bore a port which had attached to it an IV line that led to a bag of unidentifiable fluids. Glancing around showed that there was another port for easy access, set up to another IV. Naruto had picked up a bit of medical knowledge over the years thanks to a combination of TV and his own trips to the hospital, enough to know the names of things that he’d too had to live with for periods of time.

He also knew enough to know that two drips were bad news. He knew that sometimes things went wrong when you had stuff like that. But apparently the possibility of recovery was enough to risk it.

What seemed like hundreds of wires were attached to the sides of the beds. Naruto tried to follow each one to their source but he got lost in the maze of it all. Those small dots with wires leading out of them were stuck in various places around Neji’s bodies. They were always a cliché in so many of the bad medical shows he watched but seeing them on Neji enforced just how real this all was.

The most alarming thing to Naruto was the large tube that appeared to be going down Neji’s throat. It was held on by a mask and a slight wheezing of air was being produced. It looked incredibly uncomfortable, and Naruto couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be to wake up and realise you were choking on such a thing. Neji’s chest rose and fell almost mechanically which was probably what the tube was for.

Neji couldn’t breathe on his own.

That thought struck Naruto like a ton of bricks.

“They didn’t cut his hair,” Hinata whispered, seemingly done taking in the horrific sight.

“Huh?”

“I was so afraid they’d cut it,” Hinata explained. “Because it’s so long and g-gets in the way of everything. I’m glad they didn’t. Neji…his hair is precious to him.”

“Yeah?” Naruto turned back to Neji. In times like these, it seemed so silly to be relieved about a haircut. But Naruto could understand that.

“Can I…Can I braid his hair?” Hinata asked the nurse in a timid voice, snapping Naruto from his brief moment of panic. Her hand was hovering mere millimetres away from Neji’s own, as though she wanted to hold it but was afraid of what doing so might result in.

“I said you had three minutes,” the nurse said. There was that feeling again, tinting her voice.

Regret.

“Time’s up?” Naruto asked.

“Afraid so,” she confirmed. “I’ll take you back to your friends now. As Mr Akimichi is awake and responding well, you can spend a few minutes with him as well. But no longer”

“Thanks,” Naruto said genuinely. It was a miracle that they’d even been allowed to see Neji, if he was this bad. He couldn’t go shooting a horse in the mouth, or whatever that expression Iruka was fond of was.

“If it’s alright Naruto, I’m going to go now. Hanabi’s been waiting for me to come home with news. I shouldn’t leaver her in the dark any longer,” Hinata said courteously. For a moment Naruto could see the polite and detached woman inside her that her clan had been forcing her to become. Then it vanished as she smiled. “It was nice to see you again. Don’t you go ripping out any stitches.”

“I won’t,” Naruto said. She giggled a little and moved out of the room. The nurse took up her place at Naruto’s chair and wheeled him away from Neji. Naruto had the chance for one last look before he was gone.

The man from before (who was dressed like a doctor but seemed far too young…an intern maybe?) dashed back into the room the moment they’d left and began checking on all the machines. Naruto could barely stop himself from poking his tongue out at the man. A voice that sounded an awful lot like Iruka reminded him that the man was just doing his job and that job involved saving lives. Naruto couldn’t be too angry at him for that.

The nurse (Nao according to her badge) got him back to Choji’s room deftly. Shikamaru looked up at the sound of their entry and a small smile flickered over his lips.

“How’s Neji?” he asked.

“Still here,” Naruto said, unsure of how else to answer.

“He’s a fighter,” Shikamaru sounded relieved. “Just like Choji.”

“Not sure if I’m the one who’s been doing any fighting,” a weak voice piped up. “The doctors and nurses have been doing all the work.”

“It’s a joint effort,” Nao said. She pushed Naruto closer to the bed, mindful of all the machines in their path. “I’ll leave you three to it,” she said before leaving.

“Hey Choji,” Naruto whispered, suddenly feeling shy. He didn’t know Choji all that well but he’d come along to help a boy he barely knew and Naruto would never be able to thank him properly for that. There weren’t enough words to describe that sort of selflessness.

“Hi,” Choji said simply. His cheeks were marked with the swirly red patterns, confirming Naruto’s suspicions that they were tattoos. There was no way someone would’ve painted them on to his face during his stay in the ICU. Maybe they were a family thing.

“I…” Naruto broke off. An apology was bubbling on his lips, but his throat was suddenly dry and the words couldn’t come out.

“I told you,” Shikamaru said to Choji tauntingly. “You owe me five bucks.”

“I thought he might have taken your little speech to heart,” Choji shrugged and then winced.

“Are you in pain?” Naruto managed to get out, unsure what the two friends had been betting on but deciding to plough ahead anyway.

“Yeah,” Choji said. “But it’s been worse, so I know it’s getting better.”

“So what’s this bet you two had?” this was easier. Small sentences. Simple topics. Things he could say without feeling like a complete failure.

“I said that you’d want to apologise to Choji. He thought you might’ve realised by now that what happened wasn’t your fault,” Shikamaru smirked.

“But it was!” Naruto burst out. “How could it be anything but?”

“Because you didn’t push us off the road. Because you never had anything but the nicest intentions. Because all you do is look out for others and never yourself,” Choji said croakily. “Naruto, I barely know you, but I can tell all that.”

“Stop beating yourself up,” Shikamaru’s tone said that he didn’t care but his bright eyes told another story. “We all chose to come help Sasuke. And he’s alive and safe from Orochimaru thanks to you. Yes, we’re pretty banged up. But we’re alive. We’re alive, Naruto. I don’t know how many more times I can tell you that before it sinks into you. We’re alive and healing and what happened wasn’t your fault.”

“I never even thought about blaming you,” Choji chipped in.

“Never?” Naruto rubbed at the tears trailing down his cheeks. When had he started crying? “But…”

“Just give it a rest,” Shikamaru sighed. “We don’t blame you. We never will. We’re all alive.”

Naruto smiled weakly through his pain, knowing that in the troubling times to come, he would repeat those simple words to him over and over again. He might not always believe them, but they’d always be there doing their best to convince him. They didn’t blame him. Somehow, against all odds, they didn’t blame him.

He wiped the remaining tears away and tried to make his smile a little stronger. Choji didn’t need to be looking at his glum face when he was already in such a bad way.

“So how long do you have to stay in the ICU?” Naruto asked.

“Bit longer,” Choji said. His voice was growing fainter as he used what little energy he had. “Till I’m completely stable. They’re still worried about some things. I might just have to stay here until I can go home. Not sure.”

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” Shikamaru said. “None of the nurses ever let me sleep. They think I’m gonna die or something.”

“You’ll be out soon, yeah?” Naruto frowned.

“Yeah, thank god,” Shikamaru said. “Mum and Dad have the resources to look after me at home. Couple of days and I’ll be home free.”

“How about you, Naruto?” Choji asked.

“Soon too, I guess,” Naruto said, shrugging. “Iruka’s keen for me to be home. Wants to keep an eye on me.”

“Can’t blame him,” Shikamaru said with a little laugh.

Naruto winced. It was true. If you took your eyes off him for a minute, he’d be off doing something stupid, or getting all his friends killed.

“Saw Kiba before,” he said, just to change the subject.

“Yeah?” Shikamaru and Choji said at the same time. “How is he?”

“Creepy,” Naruto shivered. “Best friends are weird.”

“How is he?” Shikamaru said again, instead of rising to the bait.

“He was acting weird,” Naruto said slowly, remembering Kiba’s trembling voice and distracted words.

“Weirder than usual?” Shikamaru said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup,” Naruto shifted in his wheelchair. Sitting down constantly was actually kinda painful. What he would give to be up on his feet. “He was all quiet and didn’t even ask about Akamaru.”

“Guess he’s really banged up,” Choji said thoughtfully.

Naruto looked away. “We all are.”

“Enough with the depressive slump!” Shikamaru thumped an angry palm against the arm of his wheelchair. “You’ve got to get out of it!”

“That’s easier said than done!” Naruto yelled back, shocked by how suddenly Shikamaru has escalated things. “You have no idea how I feel!”

“I do,” Shikamaru’s voice was icy. “Believe me, I do. I was driving, Naruto. I was in control. And I failed us. I failed us all. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me.”

“Shikamaru…” He’d had no idea his friend felt that way. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine. Okay? Mine and no one else.”

“We’ve been over this,” Choji interrupted. “None of us is at fault. It’s the Sound Five who are. Them and…”

“And?”

“Sasuke.”

Naruto’s heart dropped.

“You can’t say that,” he said hoarsely.

“And why not?” Choji struggled to sit up before sinking back down into his pillows. Naruto felt a pang of anger at himself for wearing out the already struggling boy.

“Because…”

“Because?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

“Because…”

“You don’t have an answer,” Choji said sadly.

“Because it’s hard!” Naruto burst out.

“Hey,” Nao stuck her head back in. She frowned at the sight of the three worked up boys. “Alright, visiting time is over.”

“Wait,” Shikamaru said, suddenly panicked. “I need…”

“You need rest,” Nao cut him off completely. “Choji especially.”

“Can we come back tomorrow?” Shikamaru begged. It was completely weird to Naruto to see his usually composed friend acting so hysterically. He must have been really worried about Choji.

“We’ll see,” Nao reached for Naruto’s wheelchair. “Now come on.”

The tension hovered thickly in the air as Kari wheeled Naruto back to his room and then accompanied Shikamaru to his. Shikamaru gave him a long look over his shoulder as he left, but he didn’t say anything else. Naruto watched him go, regret licking at his body.

Tired, worn out and stressed from everything he’d seen that day, Naruto fell asleep quickly and when he woke, his eyes met those of the person he’d been too afraid to see, to even think about.

“Sasuke.”

The silence stretched on for an eternity. Naruto didn’t know what to say and it didn’t seem like Sasuke did either. They both just sat there, staring at the other. Naruto tried to inconspicuously look Sasuke over.

He seemed fine on the outside.

His skin was pale but then again, it usually was. His hair was as carefully spiked up as it had been the last time Naruto had seen him, right before Shikamaru had sent him crashing out of their hands. He was wearing a faded grey shirt and black pants, probably lent to him at the police station. There were fading scrapes on his arms, and a patch of gauze poking out from under the collar of his shirt but apart from that he just looked like plain old ordinary Sasuke.

The silence continued to drag on.

Naruto didn’t want to speak. Whatever reason Sasuke was here for, Naruto wasn’t going to give him an opening. It was up to him whether he spoke or not, not Naruto. Not when he didn’t know what to say.

He waited…

And waited…

And waited…

And waited…

If Sasuke wasn’t going to do anything, Naruto might just fall asleep, but he did his best to keep waiting.

And waiting…

And waiting…

And waiting…

“Are you going to say anything or not?” Sasuke burst out after what felt like forever.

“No,” Naruto said honestly. “Are you?”

Sasuke frowned at him. “What would I possibly have to say?”

“I don’t know,” Naruto said. “An apology, maybe, for getting us into this mess.”

“Hang on,” Sasuke said, glaring. “Why the hell do I have to apologise? I never asked you to come get me.”

“So what?” Naruto said, wrestling himself into a sitting position even though it hurt to do so. “So what? Just because you didn’t ask didn’t mean we wouldn’t! Should we have just left you there? Is this all our fault?”

“We don’t blame you.”

“I dunno…” Sasuke said, eyes darting elsewhere. “Maybe.”

No…

“No,” Naruto spat, suddenly furious. “No way. You don’t get to put this on them. You don’t get to put this on me. We were just trying to help you, Sasuke. We didn’t want you to end up in that awful place with that creepy man putting shitty ideas into your head!”

“I could’ve got what I wanted through him,” Sasuke hissed, temper rising in sync with Naruto’s.

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Naruto said. It was almost a growl, he was so frustrated. Couldn’t Sasuke see? “He would’ve used all the parts he wanted of you and destroyed the rest. He only has his best interests at heart.”

“And what, you have mine?”

“Yes!”

“You think that showing up and stealing me away from people who wanted to help me get the revenge I need means having my best interests at heart?”

“Are you blind? Yes! Yes, I think that. You seriously cannot be thinking right now that going with those people would have been a good idea. You know what they do to kids, right? It’s never about giving you what you want. Orochimaru never would have followed through on any of his promises! Nobody that goes with him gets a happy ending!”

“You know him that well?” Sasuke asked icily, sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Do you?” Naruto retorted. “He’s a criminal, Sasuke. A real bad guy. I know what I did led to some terrible, terrible things...”

People dying, my friends on death’s door, everything changing…

“But if I’d just let you go then even worse things would have happened!”

Sasuke changed, mutilated, twisted into a plaything for Orochimaru to use to murder as he liked…Sasuke gone…

“You can’t be angry at me for caring. We’re friends! I knew I had to help you the moment I found out what was going on, because that’s what friends do.”

“What you did is of no help to me,” Sasuke’s voice was bone-chilling. The situation had escalated in a way it seemed only Naruto and Sasuke ever managed to do. Emotions got in the way of logic and it all boiled over. “You’re not my friend.”

He stood up and left.

And Naruto…Naruto buried his head in his hands and laughed, laughed harder than he had in a long time until the laughs turned to sobs and he cried.

The night dragged on for seemingly forever. Phantom pain kept Naruto up. Anytime he dripped off, sharp bolts of agony would shoot through his body in places they weren’t supposed to be.

Sasuke’s words from earlier haunted him, aiding in preventing him from resting. Over and over he replayed the conversation, wondering what he could have done differently, or if he should have done anything differently at all. Was Sasuke right to have retaliated so harshly? Should Naruto have just let him be so he could carry out his goal in peace? If the end result was Sasuke finally being happy, was that worth all the horrible things Orochimaru would have put him through?

No.

Conflicted as Naruto was about many things, he knew he was in the right here. Sasuke was still grieving his family, and despite best efforts, he wasn’t grieving healthily. Right now, he was so absorbed in his pain that he wasn’t thinking rationally. He legitimately thought that letting a known murderer take him under his wing would have been beneficial for him. There were healthier ways to go about recovery and by interfering, Naruto had opened up the possibly of Sasuke getting to do those.

Of course, Sasuke had never been receptive to things like the support group or therapy, but Naruto believed whole-heartedly that people could change, given the chance.

He had given Sasuke that chance.

Naruto wasn’t going to start praising himself or lauding himself as a hero because of his involvement. Not only would that be insulting to his friends, it was also a position Sasuke would never allow him to take. No, Naruto definitely wasn’t some kind of life-changing icon. He’d done something though, and that was enough.

Was it worth it, risking five lives for one? The maths certainly didn’t check out. Logically, saving the five outweighed saving the one. But Naruto knew that neither he nor his friends felt like that. None of them were the kind of person to just give up on someone.

Let this dissolve his and Sasuke’s friendship. Let it happen. He would grieve, yes. The two could never speak again, Sasuke may go to his grave hating Naruto.

But make no mistake, Naruto would go to his with no regrets.

Shikamaru was gone when Naruto woke up. His parents had finally stepped in and whisked him off, easily able to follow through with his remaining treatment considering their long history with the medical industry.

Naruto didn’t even get to say goodbye.

His phone had been rendered useless in the crash- so soon after he’d finally been allowed the damn thing- and as such, he had no way to keep in contact with his friend. With Kiba seldom awake or aware, Choji off limits in the ICU and Neji still deep in a coma, Naruto was left alone. Not for the first time, he wished Lee had had his surgery in the same hospital so they could hang out, but unfortunately the teen had gone to a private clinic at the bequest of his foster father.

When Iruka dropped by late in the afternoon for a quick visit, Naruto dropped any pride he might have had and begged Iruka for a new phone so he could message his friends before he died of complete and utter boredom.

“Naruto, you’ll be going home in a couple of days,” Iruka said. “I’m sure you can manage until then.”

“But I need to be able to talk to Shikamaru,” Naruto pleaded.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka said, truly sounding like he meant it. “We just don’t have the money for that. Not at the moment.”

Ah, right. Naruto was a ward of the state and as such, his hospital bills were covered by them. No money was being lost there. However, Iruka was also using the allotted budget set aside for things such as phones and games in order to pay for the taxis he had to take to get to the hospital.

“Sorry,” Naruto tried for a smile. “I didn’t realise.”

Iruka watched him solemnly. “It’s not your fault,” he said.

Why couldn’t it be? Why not one more thing for Naruto to blame himself over? Just because he knew he’d done the right thing in helping Sasuke didn’t mean the guilt he felt for what helping Sasuke had led to would just go away. Shikamaru and Choji’s insistences helped but they couldn’t fix everything.

“Naruto,” Iruka began but Naruto held up a hand to stop him.

“I’m sorry for asking,” he said, and finally managed to smile -weak as it was. “Thanks for coming all the time, Iruka. But I’ll be fine now. You don’t have to come back.”

“Naruto!”

“Please,” Naruto stared at the man with wide, begging eyes. “The others need you more than I do. Please, stay with them instead. I’m the oldest. Heck, a few more months and none of this would have even been your problem. I can’t be responsible for everyone else missing out on things because you’re spending all the money on being here.”

“That’s stupid,” Iruka said plainly. He always had been a bit irritable, even if he tried to hide it.

“If you don’t, I’ll pull out all my stiches,” Naruto tried the same tactic he’d done with Hinata.

“You’re in a hospital, I’m sure you’d be fine,” Iruka said dryly.

“I could bleed out,” Naruto insisted.

“I doubt it.”

“Oi! Be a little more worried!”

“God, Naruto, I’m nothing but worried!” Iruka roared. “But you’re being stubborn like you always are and you won’t let me care for you!”

Naruto started at him.

“Why won’t you let me care about you?”

“Iruka…I…”

“Naruto, you are like a son to me,” Iruka said. Naruto couldn’t be sure but it looked like there were tears in his eyes. “Year after year nobody adopted you or tried to foster you and I didn’t care, because truth be told, I wanted you with me. I love you. I want to look after you and yet you fight me at every turn. You do reckless things like running off into the night to rescue Sasuke when you should have woken me up! Don’t you realise I’m here for you?”

Naruto stared at him in shock. “I…Iruka…I know that…”

“It’s alright,” Iruka said, though it sounded like he was talking more to himself. “I’ve made my peace with it. I just wish with all my heart you trusted me just a bit more.”

“I do trust you!” Naruto burst out. “Really, I do!”

“Then why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because I didn’t want Sasuke to get in trouble…” Naruto whispered. It sounded stupid now, of course it did. “Because I wasn’t thinking.”

“And maybe if I’d been less angry all the time with you, maybe you would have come to me,” Iruka smiled a sad smile.

“No, that’s…”

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I don’t want you to be.”

“I have a stressful job,” Iruka confessed. “It’s taxing on me, physically and mentally, and I’m sorry if I ever took it out on you.”

“You haven’t,” Naruto said, pulling a face. “You’re easy to anger and kinda grumpy but it never felt like you were yelling at us because you needed an outlet. Running a care home is pretty cool and I don’t think mean people are good at it. And you’re good at it so you’re not mean!”

Iruka sighed but it was fond and loving, the kind of sigh Naruto would always hear after he’d done something really stupid, a sort of ‘you are so exhausting but I love you’ noise that always reminded Naruto that no matter what, he had Iruka.

“Thank you, Naruto,” Iruka said. “That…that means a lot.”

“Ya know,” Naruto said thoughtfully, with just a hint of mischief to his tone. “We only seem to have these deep conversations when I get hurt, so maybe-”

“Finish that sentence, Naruto, and I will never get you a new phone.”

“Tch, fine,”

“Oh, and I’ll be visiting every day young man until we bring you home. Don’t try and get out of it. Pull your stiches out and I’ll tie you to the bed myself.”

“Iruka!”

Laughing pulled at his stiches and aggravated his bruises but Naruto did it anyway, and sitting across from him, Iruka did the same.

“Well,” Shizune said, snapping closed her folder with a sharp click. “I’m incredibly happy with your progress, Naruto. If you promise to stay in bed and look after yourself, I’m happy to release you today.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” Iruka said immediately before Naruto could even open his mouth.

“Iruka,” Naruto whined. “Isn’t the whole point about leaving the hospital that you can start doing normal stuff again.”

“No,” Shizune said, scowling. “If it was, then we’d never have any space to take more people.”

“I still think I should be allowed out of bed.”

“That’s not up to you,” Iruka reminded him fondly. “Bed at home will be way better than a bed in a hospital.”

“Yeah, but…” Naruto trailed off. “How am I meant to know how everyone’s going if I’m stuck at home?”

“Would we be allowed to call for updates?” Iruka asked Shizune, hopeful not just for Naruto’s sake but for his own as well.

“It’s not traditional,” Shizune said, frowning. “Nor is it a priority for any of our staff to take time out of their schedules to track down patients that aren’t their own.”

“I’m sure Shikamaru would be kept in the loop,” Iruka offered Naruto. “Considering his connections. How about you ask him for any news.”

“How?” Naruto said. “I don’t have a phone.”

“You can use the landline.”

“Okay,” Naruto said reluctantly. “I guess that works.”

“Okay then,” Shizune stood. “A nurse or a resident will come round with discharge papers and some notes on recommended care. In the nicest way possible, Naruto, we would love to not see you again.”

“No offense but unless it’s for a visit, I feel exactly the same,” Naruto said, grinning. The brisk doctor offered him one last smile of her own before she slipped out the door and back into the world where she was needed most.

With his release now imminent, Iruka set about packing up all the cards and gifts Naruto had been sent. Naruto watched quietly for once, thinking about the orphanage, about the kids who flocked to him for new games and prank ideas. He thought about his room, and how it was never empty anymore because…

“Iruka?” Naruto asked as he watched his father figure examine some slightly wilted flowers that Tsunade had brought in fresh a few days ago, seemingly deciding whether it was worth taking them or not. “Is…is Sasuke coming home?”

“Oh,” Iruka’s hands stilled. “I-”

It was enough of an answer for Naruto to understand.

“Why not? Where is he going?!”

Naruto had thought he’d made his peace yesterday with Sasuke’s refusal to see Naruto’s help as anything but unnecessary meddling. He’d been satisfied, finally, that the right choice had been made and that it didn’t matter if it ruined him and Sasuke because at least his friend was safe. The thing was, it was one thing to think it but when it actually started to happen, that was a whole other story. The thought of returning home to an empty room after he’d finally had someone to share it with was chilling.

Sasuke was Naruto’s friend, his brother, the person who understood it all, always. And if he left then…then…

“It’s been decided that Sasuke needs some sort of permanent care, at least for a bit.” Iruka said, laying a hand on Naruto’s arm. Without realising, Naruto’s breathing had started to pick up and his upper body was trembling. “He’s going to be admitted to a psychiatric ward where he can finally start to work through his trauma. I’m sorry, Naruto. The care home just wasn’t the right place for him.”

“But…”

But nothing. Naruto closed his mouth before he could even pretend to protest. Iruka was right. Everything he’d done for Sasuke had ended up just hurting him even more. At the end of the day, they were just too different.

“We did our best,” Iruka said. “But what Sasuke went through is unimaginable. He should have been receiving treatment for his trauma from the very beginning, but it just slipped through the cracks.”

Naruto- a ward of the government for his entire life- was well used to how often things fell by the wayside when it came to him and his fellow orphans, misfits and outcasts.

“Do you know where he’s going?” Naruto asked. “Will we able to go visit him?”

“Not at first,” said Iruka. “He needs time to settle. But maybe after a bit, when he’s feeling up to it.”

“You’re not my friend.”

Sasuke might never feel up to seeing Naruto again.

“Come on,” Iruka said, as if he’d sensed what Naruto was thinking and was doing his best to take his mind off it. “Let’s get you home. You’ll feel better once you’re out of here and back with everyone else.”

Leaving Choji, Neji and Kiba behind wouldn’t make him feel better, but Iruka had a point regardless of that. Naruto missed the other kids he’d grown up with. He missed the freedom he had in the care house- perhaps not as much freedom as a normal kid would have but certainly more than he got in the hospital. He missed pretending he was just like everyone else and not a monumental fuck up who ruined everything he touched.

“Alright,” he said, sliding himself out of the bed to land awkwardly in the wheelchair that he was supposed to keep using until he was officially off the hospital premises. “I’m ready.”

It felt like a lie, and yet somehow not one either.

Hovering awkwardly in the doorway of the exit to the hospital while Iruka brought the car around made his departure a bit anticlimactic, but it had the benefit of allowing Naruto to thank the various nurses and orderlies he recognised that kept walking past. He’d probably been a bit annoying to them, what with him constantly begging to be allowed to move around, and the barging into the ICU. Still, they all bid him goodbye with wide smiles and well wishes for the future. All echoed Shizune’s sentiment of not wanting to see him back with any other injuries which Naruto in turn added his agreement.

As Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the plastic chair of the waiting room he’d been dropped into- hospital resources were constantly on the move and his wheelchair had been whisked away instantly to be handed off to someone else- he spotted a stack of newspaper placed haphazardly on a small table for anyone who was looking for something to do to read. In Naruto’s experience, places like this never had anything up to date to read, but he was surprised to see that this wasn’t the case in this instance at all. The paper on the top of the pile featured a bold headline that couldn’t have been about anything but their incident.

Miracle On Ravine Path- Teens Lucky To Be Alive After Horror Crash

Stretching his least injured arm out to its full length allowed Naruto to snag the newspaper and drag it over to him. He nearly lost the middle of it when it refused to move with what few pages he’d grabbed, but in the end it made it to him in one piece. Wide eyes stared down at a truly horrific picture of Shikamaru’s car snared by snarling trees at the bottom of the ravine.

How had any of them made it out alive?

The branches that pierced the battered and crumpled metal…the broken class and buckled frame… the blood that could be clearly seen smearing what little remained of the windows…

Woah, Naruto thought. A cold chill was spreading through his body like he’d jumped into the ocean on a winter’s day. I should be dead.

He flexed his broken fingers tentatively, using the pain to remind himself that somehow he’d walked- or rolled- away from the ‘horror crash’. Not in one piece, and not any better for the experience, but alive nonetheless. All of them had, and hopefully they would stay that way.

Iruka hadn’t been kidding though. They were apparently a hot ticket item in the news. The article accompanying the photo was detailed enough and made continuous reference to previous writings on the topic. None of them had been mentioned by name but Naruto identified himself as ‘one male, also seventeen, was conscious when first responders arrived at the scene, and was confirmed to be in a stable condition by doctors a few hours after admittance to the hospital’. It was almost like being famous except for all the wrong reasons. Naruto wondered if there were reporters outside waiting to snap a pic of him, and if Shikamaru had received the same treatment. Maybe that’s why he’d been removed from the hospital so abruptly. No chance of his departure being leaked and becoming the subject of intense media scrutiny.

Reading the rest of the article, Naruto was able to pick out each of his friends from the lines describing their situations. Neji and Choji were ‘two of the five remain in a critical, non-stable condition in the ICU’ and Shikamaru was ‘it is believed that one of those injured is the son of a former staff member of the hospital.’ That left Kiba to be ‘the final teenager involved in the incident was reported to be in a stable condition after a brief period of time spent in a medically induced coma’. It was weird to see them all be talked about so impersonally. Would Naruto have cared so much reading an article about people he didn’t know?

“Sir,” an orderly interrupted his thoughts. “Your guardian is here.”

Naruto set the newspaper back down and craned his head eagerly. Iruka was parked in the loading zone (heh, he was the cargo due to be loaded) and was quickly making his wake back into the hospital. Naruto tensed in anticipation. He couldn’t get up to cut Iruka’s journey in half- thank you broken ankle- but he could be ready for when Iruka held out his arms and helped Naruto walk out of here on his own two feet, albeit slowly and a touch painfully.

Leaving the newspaper behind (and Choji and Neji and Kiba) Naruto reached for Iruka and was glad when he reached back.

It was time to go.