The Price We Pay

As soon as he did he could hear new voices, two older males, both telling him to stay calm, not move around too much or he'd open his stitches.

For the first time in his life he ignored them, he didn't care. The most important thing in his life was NOT what they thought or wanted from him. And he Definitely was ignoring one of them in particular.

In his opinion it was all his fault. All HIS.

If he had of told the SWAT about Naruto and the man, they would rescued him before he was injected. If he had told them they could have had a sniper take him out. If he had of told them, he wouldn't have had to defend his lover like that. If he had of told them, he wouldn't of been injured.

It was his fault.

Logically it wasn't so, but his mind and heart wouldn't listen.

However another voice made him pause and listen, scratchy, familar, breaking from disuse above a whisper "our brother lives, Sas."

He paused in confusion, couldn't she feel it, that void of emptyness growing larger and larger? The emptyness that encompassed what was once filled with light and life even in its darkest hours?

Perhaps she couldn't feel him like he could. That was the only explaination, if she knew the state her 'brother' was in.

Would she just be sitting there staring calmly from her wheelchair if she knew?

Wait, wheelchair? Where was he?

Hesitately he froze and looked around, recognizing his sarroundings but not understanding them. Frowning he spoke out, more to himself than anyone else "why am I here? What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that, Sasuke. Why did you leave the SWAT teams side? You were safe with them."

Sasuke remembered and glared at his uncle "but Naru wasn't. Someone had to do something to save him and when I realised those guys and YOU wouldn't, I decided it would have to be me."

Gaara opened his mouth to defend himself and his actions but Madara, recognizing an argument in the making, quickly headed it off "then what happened?"

Sasuke told them about sneaking in the room, hiding under the desk and watching Naruto, tied to an steel bench and the guy standing over but how that was ok for a while because all he did was write.

"Go on" Madara said soothingly "what caused you to be so injured badly?"

Sasuke told them about the needle and the stuff inside, how Naruto was so terrified at it he knew he had to stop him, adding after an emotional swallow "I think he was going to kill him finally." He went on with when he had kicked the guy in the head, struggling to hold him down, the sudden scream in his head and the pain in his back before he blacked out. He kept Naruto's rebellion to himself, thinking maybe he had imagined it in his pain or just been wisful thinking.

He ended it with a "that's all I can remember. How do I end up here anyway? WHERE IS NARUTO!!"

They told him about hearing his scream, Gaara trying to persuade SWAT to go in. They then heard crashes for about five minutes, quiet for ten then Naruto appeared at the window and motioned them up. When they had got there they had found him on the table and what they had seen inside and what had happened next.

Madara spoke softly "your uncle and some others theorise that when you went down it gave Naruto an temporary burst of rage so strong it overpowered his terror. Somehow he burnt through his bonds and freed himself and attacked that guy. Since he was still climbing out from under you he was trapped by your weight long enough for him to knock him out.

He examined you, found your severe state and took his rage and helplessness out on the room. When that was over he stitched your wound to stop the bleeding, tied the man up and set up an blood transfusion before signalling them. By the time they reached the room, it was done."

Sakura spoke out this time "our brother sacrificed blood he couldn't spare for you, Sasuke. The doctors say he's dying from the last chemical but don't know how much longer he's got. He's in the ICU, in a coma."

"Even now we don't know how his chemical infested blood is going to affect you" Madara said "the doctors want you to stay in here for a while so they can keep an eye on you." Sasuke didn't care, to him it meant he had time, time to be with Naruto if he died but most importantly time to use all he was and all he had to convince his love to come back to him.


At first the doctors refused to let him walk around and go anywhere near the ICU.

However he always found a way into Naruto's room in the ICU, no matter how hard they tried until they finally allowed it as long as he wore a mask into the sterile room (when he asked a nurse about it she explained that as it was Naruto's immune system was extremely low, a cough, a simple cold or germ from Sasuke could infect and kill him) and didn't touch any of the machines attached to him.

It was apparent he was healing so quickly because of Naruto's blood, but he didn't care about any possible side-effects, only his friends deteariting state. He did everything he could to stay by his loves side, al he could think of was he had tried to save his 'brothers' life and had failed miserably. The sick teenager had been forced to save HIM instead, to nearly give his life for him.

He stayed by his friends side, gripping his good hand, talking to him constantly until he lost his voice but starting again once he had the chance. He urged and begged him to come out, telling him he was needed as a witness and victim against the bastard in court and get him convicted, telling him how well Sakura and the other children were doing in recovery, their parents by their sides and how he was a hero now for helping reunite them. The parents wanted to somehow thank him and Sakura for protecting them "even Gai's parents, Naruto. Thanks to you now they know what happened to their son, they can grieve for him properly and see him as the hero he was. They can give his body a proper burial. They want you to be there for it, so you have to come out of it!"

He frowned, looking at Naruto silently for a few long seconds, then sighed in resignation. He had been positive mentioning Gai would get some sort of reaction from him, but he hadn't even twitched. Still, he had to keep trying. Only Naruto himself could bring him out, but only Sasuke could give him a reason to. Even Kyuubi gave no reaction whatsoever.

He wanted to yell at him, to scream to come back to him but he couldn't, he had to hold it back.

Naruto needed positive energy and encouragement right now, anything negative and they risked the other withdrawing from the world outside his head to escape memories and fear of the previous negative energy he had suffered.

Ino and Ibiki came to visit occasionally, speaking to Sasuke and helping him talk it out and releive some of the stress he was going through, Ino pulling Sasuke aside to listen while Ibiki sat on the chair beside the bed, gently stroking Naruto's hair from his eyes and on those days even Naruto seemed somehow a little better after they had gone.

Sasuke frowned as he though over the new information he had received recently, a new sign of Naruto's mutations thanks to the bastard and the horrible addition to the bastards sins against his love given by Sakura, something they had hidden from Sasuke on the pretence he was unwell at the time to handle it.

When they had first brought Naruto and the others in, they had heavily examined then for wounds and other surface problems. Naruto had been raped again and they had cleaned out his rectum, as well as using water with disinfectant to wash all of then carefully.

It was when the nurse had gently but professionally moved Naruto penis and balls aside they had discovered IT. She had frowned but continued to clean him, thinking to tell the head doctor about it later.

But in the rush and concern for the children she had forgotten about it.

Just after Sasuke had awoken and started sitting with him, another nurse had discovered the same thing while giving him a sponge bath and told the doctor. This had been confirmed by the nurse who had forgotten. They had rushed Naruto into x-ray, ultrasound and done numerous tests that both concerned and frightened Iruka, Kakashi and Sasuke.

What could possibly cause the doctors and nurses to panic like this?

Finally the doctor in charge of Naruto's case came to see them all as they sat down in his loves room, talking. Doctor Kurenai got their attention and explained "It seems, somehow or other, Naruto has grown a fully functioning female reproductive system. The hole the nurses both found between his balls and rectum as the entrance for a fully functional vagina, complete with all the senses and nerves to allow sexual pleasure."

They were too stunned to speak so the doctor went on "now I have any previous doctor who examined him e-mail their records to me so I KNOW he wasn't born with this-like those rare beings now known as she-males, but how chemicals and torture could cause this growth within the limited time in captivity I don't know. However unlike an she-male who even though they have two system can have only ONE fully functioning one he has BOTH and it seems is highly fertile, both ways, incredibly so, in fact he seems to be producing triple the amount of both sperm and eggs a normal healthy woman or man does."

Sasuke, through his shock, had only one thought, babies, he and Naruto could have children at a later date! Children their own, not adopted or fostered or even a surrogate mother, their own!

The idea of babies lead to a sudden terrifying thought and he looked up at the doctor "can you tell if he's ever conceived or given birth before?"

Doctor Kurenai looked down at her notes "no he hasn't. Our tests show that even though his hymen has been broken long ago, years maybe, no pregnancy has ever taken, let alone come full term. Which is strange considering how fertile he is, if he was to have sexual intercourse during his cycle, like any other woman he would have most definitely conceived. But he hasn't."

Sakura mumbled something and they all turned to her, Sasuke's eyes huge in his face in disbelief "you KNEW about this?!"

She glared at him "of course I did! Remember, I told you about it!" He frowned at her seriously "I think I would have remembered if you told me the boy I love can have sex and have children!"

Sakura looked away from his anger and said in a small voice "I told you Naruto was his prized experiment and that he was using him to build and army under HIS complete control."

"I thought you meant by kidnapping, brainwashing and then the experiments, NOT raping him and forcing him to birth his children!!"

"It doesn't matter anyway, Kyuubi said he won't let HIM get them pregnant. He said THEIR mating season is different from an human so while Naruto might cycle like an human woman in that side sexually he won't be fertile for months, at least not in the sense of being mentally receptive for a baby. He said THEIR mating season in the start is every five years until they find their mate in which case it becomes every six months. He also said that THEY mate for life and since Naruto had already found his mate-even though he hadn't claimed or been claimed by him yet-that means he will not only never get pregnant to HIM, but his body doesn't recognise his, he will never get any sort of sexual excitement or satisfaction from another, let alone HIM. No matter what he tries or tried, nothing would work, no drug that insures pregnancy, no aphrodisiac, no viagra, nothing."

Sasuke swallowed, almost afraid as he asked softly "who is his chosen mate? Did he tell you?" To which Sakura looked at him like 'your kidding me aren't you? It's bloody obvious!'

"Please Sakura" he said softly "I need to hear you tell me, I need to hear you say it. Who was, who IS Naruto and Kyuubi's chosen mate? Please!" She looked at him sternly and seriously for long seconds then sighed "you are Sasuke, it's you."

After that Sasuke would barely move from his loves bedside and when he wasn't there Iruka or Kakashi were there, the two foster parents sitting on Naruto's other bedside, Iruka able to use his Medical and Doctor position to stay with the excuse Naruto has been his child for years, so he knows what's normal for him or not so would be able to call in case of any unusual and serious problems.

Sasuke only left to get meals and to use the facilities, in fact he had been gone when the first one had happened.

Sasuke was walking back when he was almost knocked down by a group of doctors and nurses rushing past him with trolleys of what Sasuke recognised as one of those machines they use to restart someone's heart. They ran past him and to his horror they moved directly into his loves room.

And he could hear panicked shouts inside, both from Iruka and other doctors.
Jerking out of his horror and shock he took off into the room to find an terrifying sight.

Naruto was convulsing on the bed, entire body-which was too weak to do something this violent flailing around, blood staining his left side of his mouth and eyes still closed as he moved about and Sasuke knew he was still in his coma, that his body was reacting to...well...something.

As he watched from the doorway the convulsions suddenly stopped and he was deadly still, literally, the heart-rate monitor suddenly flatlined. What followed was desperate attempts to restart his heart without the use of drugs, although they were able to use adrenalin since it occurred naturally in the body.

It took them a full ten minutes to restart his heart again to normal rhythm and make sure he was stable before leaving the room, leaving Sasuke to walk to his loves bedside leaning down to gently kiss his lips, trying to repress a sob, he had almost lost him again! When he had finished he looked up at Iruka "what happened?!"

"We don't know. It seems that something is weakening his heart, maybe the chemicals combined are finally having an detrimental affect. We can only wait and see what happens and hope."

"But there has to be SOMETHING you can do!"
Iruka sighed at this desperation, "we can only wait."

~***************************************~

Sasuke tried to repress a sob, fighting hard to hold onto hope where there didn't seem to be any anymore, his hands clutching fiercely to his loves good one.

It had been six months since the bastards capture and the children and Sakuras' freedom from that room. Six whole months Sasuke had hung onto hope, six whole months of not a peep, not a twitch or a word, despite the fact his beaten body had fully healed and his health-thanks to the drips from the stands all around the bed-was almost fully healed. Both his and Naruto's 18th birthdays had come and gone, yet nothing happened.

Except for the attacks.
Since the first one he had had two more, each one of them worse than the one before it.

Iruka and Dr Kurenai both said if he had one more, they would be unable to bring him back again. The fourth time would kill him.

Squeezing his loves hand Sasuke tried one last time "please Naru, please come back to me! I need you, I have needed you since the day I met you, I can't go on without you, if you die, I'll follow, I promise. Please, just come back to me!"

Nothing.

"PLEASE! PLEASE NARUTO! I LOVE YOU! COME BACK TO ME!"

Nothing.

That was it, he couldn't take it anymore. Throwing himself over his love his shoulders wracked with full out grief filled and uncontrollable body-wracking sobs. He poured all his emotions out, everything he had held all this time. He had lost his parents and now he was losing the one he loved most, the one being in the entire world-no-universe-that meant more to him than his own life.

He couldn't have been crying long when he became aware of another voice speaking to him and at first he ignored it but that stopped when he realised, somewhere in the corner of his mind, that the voice wasn't out loud but in his head. "Don't cry, I hate it when you cry. Please Sasuke, you'll start me off and I can't cry, my chest hurts too much."

Struggling to heroically stop and muffle his tears he sat back slightly, enough to look down at the still form under him. No change. "Wha...." He managed through tears to be answered with a reply "I don't want you to cry of me, I'm alive after all."

Hardly daring to hope he whispered "Naruto?"

The hand in his squeezed weakly for a second and as he watched slowly a pair of painful eyes slowly slid out from under lids and after a few seconds locked on him, a small smile and the voice came again "you love me? Took you long enough to realise, I've known you were my mate long before we met. That's why I wouldn't leave you alone when you first arrived. I knew you'd get it sooner or later."

Disbelief filled Sasuke at the sight of those eyes followed quickly by sudden overwhelming and overpowering joy "NARUTO!"

~***************************************~