The Risk

The Risk

Chapter Three

Naruto woke to the sounds of voices buzzing all around him. He tried to tell them to shut up and let him sleep but he found that he couldn't get the words to form. He couldn't even open his eyes.

"…deadly…"

"…blood…"

"…seal…"

"…dangerous…"

"…die…"

The few words that Naruto was able to catch froze his blood. Was something wrong with his seal? Naruto began to struggle to open his eyes, to move his arms, to call for help, anything! His body wasn't listening.

Calm down, boy, you'll only make a bad situation worse.

A dark voice entered his mind, he recognized it immediately. Damn you, fox! What did you do? Naruto yelled in his mind. He and the fox never talked though they did communicate. It was a sort of feeling, like when a person knows something is wrong; they feel it.

It wasn't me, boy. Something is wrong with that damned seal. It bleeds into us. It poisons us. We are dying. There was a sense of urgency and fear in the fox's voice. Naruto tried not to choke at the fox's words. He went cold as the fox's fear seeped in and became his own. They couldn't be dying. He felt just fine, really! No! No! No! This was wrong, just a cruel joke of the fox!

In his panic his eyes had snapped open and he began to struggle against the chains holding him down. They were choking him. They kept getting tighter. He couldn't breathe! He couldn't see! He had to get away, he needed help! Please someone help him! Suddenly the chains turned into arms. People were holding him down.

"Shhh…I'm here." A voice said into his ear. Naruto stopped struggling as he fought to catch the breath that he didn't realize that he'd lost. His eyes slowly focused on the people around him. Sai was at the head of the bed, pinning his shoulders. Yamato and Kakashi were holding his legs while Tsunade and Jiraya were looking at him closely with their hands on his seal. Concern was written on all their faces. Well all but Sai's and Kakashi's, both of which were carefully blank.

Tsunade looked at him. "Naruto, this is very important, what day is it?" Uh-Oh. Naruto knew that this was a loaded question. Whenever this was asked it meant that you were out for more then a day and you were expected to get the answer wrong. Well, might as well play the game, Naruto thought.

"Monday?" Naruto's throat was dry and his tongue was swollen. Sai released his arms and backed away.

"It's Tuesday. We couldn’t wake you yesterday morning. When you were brought here you were suffering from massive charka depletion. Did you do any training after Kakashi and Yamato dismissed you?" Tsunade was curt as always. Naruto shook his head in denial. That was a bad idea as Naruto figured out when he felt his head start to jolt in a way that made him feel faint. Oh well, missing one day wasn't so bad. He could have been out for weeks! Naruto tensed his muscles under the hospital sheets. Good, they still ached slightly.

Sai returned with a glass of water for Naruto, for which Naruto was eternally grateful. He gulped the water down and handed it back to Sai who put it on the bedside table. There was something about the action that bugged Naruto. It was too normal. Too intimate.

Jiraya inspected his seal closely. "Now, lad, what is going on with your seal? I know you know that there's something wrong."

"I don't really know." Naruto lied. Deep in his gut he knew that he should keep what the fox said secret, simply because the fox said it. He knew that it would only be a bad reaction if he told them he was on speaking terms with the fox.

Jiraya knew that he was lying; he could smell it. Naruto always looked away when he was purposely lying. Dishonesty never fit him well. Naruto would apologize to his mark should he be sent on assignation missions. Jiraya wanted to call him on his lie but the boy was obviously exhausted and needed his rest. And Tsunade was beginning to look ready to kick them all out.

"Perhaps we should leave Naruto to rest for now." Sai suggested. Tsunade looked at him sharply. She almost resented him saying what she was about to say. This uppity Root-nin had no right to dictate what happened in her hospital, especially when it had to do with Naruto. She was supposed to be the mother hen!

"Right, everyone out." Tsunade said as she went to leave the room.

Kakashi said nothing as he and Yamato left the room. This was out of their hands and they knew it. Discussions would be held at a later date.

Jiraya looked at Sai as the man made no move to leave. Sai saw the hint but instead turned to look at Naruto. "Can I have a word with you for a moment, Naruto?"

Jiraya left the room but not before giving Sai an untrusting look. Sai ignored it as the door snapped shut. He instead turned his attention to Naruto who was still in a daze but his eyes were much clearer then when he had found Naruto.

"What's going on Naruto?" Sai asked softly.

"I didn't tell them, why would I tell you?" Naruto snapped. He knew that Sai would be the one to see through his lies, so there was no need to further the charade. He almost flinched as Sai's face became more distant.

"They didn't see what I saw. Don't you remember at all?"

"Will you stop beating around the goddamn bush? What are you talking about already?" Naruto was a little worried. Sai was worried and whenever Sai showed emotion Naruto got very uncomfortable.

"You were naked in front of the mirror, drawing a fox on the glass with blood from an unknown origin. Well, not completely unknown. Apparently the Naras found two stags, a doe, and a fawn mutilated by what looked like a wild animal. They were partially eaten."

Naruto felt his stomach lurch at that thought. "And what makes you think that has anything to do with me?"

Sai's eyes softened a touch as he reached to brush Naruto's hair from his eyes. Naruto carefully chose to ignore the action. Sai continued, "You had vomited up the raw meat all over yourself. You really scared me."

Naruto shook his head. Sai never felt anything so that he knew that this was a lie. Besides Naruto would have never attacked an animal like that. But why would Sai make something like this up? It wasn't exactly a penis envy joke or a bad nickname. "Why didn't you tell them all this? And why didn't they figure anything out?"

"I felt that it wasn't something that you wanted them to see, or know about." Sai leaned closer to Naruto, who was quickly becoming apprehensive of Sai.

"What makes you think that I thought you should know about it?" Naruto got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and he saw his worst fear happening like a train wreck.

"Well, I'm special." Sai said as a matter of fact. "We have a bond."

Whoa, back up! Naruto thought. This was definitely dangerous territory. "What bond?"

Sai looked at him confused, when Naruto said nothing he leaned in and kissed him. Naruto was careful not to have any reaction. Sai pulled back and looked at him even more confused. He went in to try again. Maybe he had caught Naruto by surprise and that was why Naruto didn't act. Well this time Naruto would react.

He did.

As Sai moved in Naruto raised his hand to block Sai's advance. Sai immediately backed off looking directly at him, quiet. Naruto took a deep breath. It was time to end this infatuation. He knew that it would hurt Sai more than anything Naruto could do.

"Listen, Sai, I think that you have the wrong idea of me. I'm not like that." Naruto said. To Naruto's infinite surprise Sai's cheeks became dusted with colour. Was Sai sick? He kept reacting to everything Naruto did and it was beginning to frighten him.

"Yes you are." Sai was acting like he was saying this to himself more then Naruto.

Naruto took Sai's hands in his own. "No, I'm not. Look I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. But it didn't mean any—"

"But you let me touch you." Sai said in a hoarse whisper, "Don't say it didn't mean anything, don't you dare!"

"Sai—"

"No! Here you are all high and mighty acting like that. You practically forced your way into my heart and now that I accept that you say no? I was content to feel nothing and here you come forcing me to be human again" Sai looked like he was beginning to hyperventilate. Even Sai looked like he was beginning to get frightened.

"Sai I only wanted a friend!" Naruto pleaded with him.

"You used me. Don't go acting like you didn't know! I know that you knew. If you weren't interested then why didn't you tell me in the beginning? Why did you wait for me to humiliate myself?"

Naruto was speechless. Sai was really getting worked up. It wasn't that big of a deal. Before Naruto could say anything, however, Sai got up and went to leave the room.

Sai turned to look at him one last time before he walked out that door.

"Fuck you."

Naruto closed his eyes as the door shut with a snap. What was the big deal?

~*~*~*~*

A/N: okay I know that Sai seemed a bit out of character but my train of thought here is that he's having an emotional overload. Forgive me for using the cliché dam of emotions breaking free. I don't know why but Sai seems like the type to lose it like, forgive me for saying, a girl. (Sorry, I haven't seen many guys act like this but I've seen plenty of girls do it.)