The Art of Patience

The Art of Patience Ch. 39
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto stood perfectly still and stared at Kakashi for a long time in stunned silence. He'd always known that Madara was scum and that the police couldn’t seem to pin anything to him but the thought that someone he knew had been going after that monster for as long as they'd known each other potentially; he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.

The blond stared at the floor and bit his lip as he sorted through what he was feeling. Betrayed that was for sure, why couldn't Kakashi have trusted him? He'd trusted the man with his first sub, swung by on the rare occasions that the white haired man had been sick. He had never known Kakashi had ever been a part of the police force after he'd left the military.

He also felt hurt on top of seeing Sasuke in such bad shape since he wasn't trustworthy enough to even be told what was going to happen. Now that Madara had been caught for so many things and finally nailed for kidnapping his poor Kitty was going to have to be a witness at his uncle’s trial and face his tormentor again. "You're a cop? Why didn't you ever tell me? I always thought..."

Kakashi sighed and leaned against the wall opposite his blonde friend. “Believe me Naruto, if there was any way to tell you, I would have. Investigations like Madara’s have to be taken with extreme caution. Outside parties usually aren’t allowed to know… there’s always a chance it will get back to the one wanted and we don’t want to see any more tragedy like what we saw tonight with Sasuke.”

The silver haired man straightened up once more and took a few steps toward Naruto. “I don’t want to keep you longer than you want, but I just wanted to tell you that… and that I’m sorry for not telling you but I had my reasons.”

Naruto thought about what Kakashi had said for a moment and nodded. It did make sense that he be left out of it, he probably would have done something stupid like threaten Madara at that party with the fact that he was being watched if Kakashi had told him about earlier. "Well Thanks for Saving Sasuke; you have no idea how much that means to Itachi and me."

Kakashi bowed his head. “I would have done it regardless…” The silver haired man knew he still had to tell Naruto about Orochimaru’s involvement, but knew that it wasn’t the right time yet. Naruto still had to be positive for Sasuke and Itachi. Telling him something like that would just stress the man out. So Kakashi smiled and put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “I should probably get going. Take care of Sasuke… I know you will.” With that, he walked off down the hallway and out of the depressing building. He had to check on Sai after all. Although he was sure the man was in good hands with Kiba, he saw the connection between them when he had called up the blonde’s room-mate to ask him to keep Sai company. Needless to say, Kiba agreed without question.

Naruto nodded and watched Kakashi leave before turning and sticking his head into Sasuke's room to see if they were done having their quiet moment together. Itachi was still sitting right next to Sasuke and holding the abused man’s hand.

After Sasuke’s little outburst, Itachi had ignored the fragile state his brother may be in and wrapped his arms around the younger man. “How could we not want you anymore? Naruto and I love you no matter what happens. None of this was your fault Sasuke….”

Sasuke pulled away weakly and turned away from Itachi. “How can you even say that? He… he made me his…” Sasuke felt the tears stream down his face at the memory of what happened still fresh in his mind.

Itachi sat there stunned for a moment and then jumped when he heard the door open once more and saw his master’s head look through the opening. Upon hearing the blonde’s question, Itachi just shook his head sadly but motioned for Naruto to come into the room.

Sasuke knew that Naruto was in the room again and opted to lie down and curl up into a ball away from the two men that he knew loved him deep down but his mind didn’t want to accept it at the moment. To them, he had to be disgusting…

Naruto stopped next to Sasuke's bed and leaned against the little rail."Hey Sasuke. How are you feeling?" The blond really wanted to reach out and touch Sasuke but his poor little Kitty had curled up and pulled away when he'd walked into the room, almost like he didn't want to be touched by anyone at all.

Itachi looked at the blonde for a moment before standing up and walking over to the man. “I think he’s just a bit overwhelmed. But he really needs reassurance… Maybe you should talk to him?”

Sasuke stayed in his little ball, not wanting to answer the blonde. He couldn’t make his voice work anymore and really had no desire to talk to anyone. He turned his head though when he heard his brother get out of the chair. “You’re leaving?” he asked quietly.

Itachi headed back over to Sasuke after giving his master a much needed hug and placed his hands on the railing as well. “I’m not going anywhere, I just thought I’d let Naruto be with you for a little bit.”

The young Uchiha hesitated for a moment before nodding once and turning himself so he was curled up still but now facing Naruto and his brother.

Naruto smiled at Sasuke and bit the back of his tongue to keep the tears back. "I should have come see you after work to keep all this from happening. I should have been there to keep you safe." The blond felt a couple of hot tears escape as he looked at Sasuke, miserably curled up like he was expecting to be hurt.

Sasuke didn’t answer right away. How could Naruto even say something like that? It wasn’t his fault at all. It was all Sasuke’s fault; he was the only one that could be blamed for this situation. No one else but himself and no one would tell him differently. “It’s my fault. You don’t have to apologize for anything.” His voice was quiet and distant and he didn’t even bother to look at his Master, afraid to see what he knew would be there; shame, disappointment, hurt…

Itachi stood back and tried to stay where he was. It was hard to see Sasuke shut himself off from everyone. The boy hadn’t done that since he was a child…

Naruto shook his head sadly and looked at Sasuke in concern, he was getting that victim's thing where they blame themselves for the situation even though there was no way in hell they could be responsible for it. "No Sasuke, I should have tried harder to keep you home that day. Remember I didn't want you to go at all."

Sasuke nodded slowly. “I remember… that’s why it’s my fault too; I didn’t listen to you like I should have. It’s all my fault; I deserve to be punished.”

Itachi took a step forward but then stopped. He knew that the grieving process was very difficult for a lot of people. Sasuke was just dealing with the trauma in his own way. He wanted to tell Naruto to not let the words Sasuke said affect him, Sasuke wasn’t thinking clearly and therefore probably didn’t mean most of what he said. He hoped Naruto would remember that little detail; he was sure the blonde went through the same thing, or similar, after his traumatic experiences with Orochimaru.

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s arm and shook his head. Sasuke needed help and support right now, not punishment form anyone including himself. Not only that but he'd feel stressed out and depressed for a hell of a long time depending on what Madara had done to him. "You don't deserve punishment, Kitty. You need all the care and support your brother and I can give you. Just hang in there until we can get you home okay?"

Itachi tried not to wince at the words his master was saying. It wasn’t that he thought Naruto was incapable of comfort, but the man had never seemed one to be a great source of it in dire situations like these. Sure the blonde was great with simple comfort but when a situation like this arises, he noticed that Naruto seemed to shut down somewhat. Itachi attributed it to the blonde’s own experiences with abuse.

Sasuke flinched as the hand landed on his arm and he tried his best not to shrink away even more. He didn’t want to look at the blonde anymore and felt more tears leave his eyes. He hated feeling like he failed everyone; he knew the whole ordeal was his fault and he would never be able to make it up to anyone, no matter how hard he tried. The damaged inflicted to the younger Uchiha was too much to even consider repairing in his eyes.

“Aniki…” he whispered softly, disconnecting himself from Naruto and putting sole focus on his brother, he really needed him.

Naruto felt a sharp pang like he'd been stabbed in the chest and pulled his hand back as quickly as he could without startling Sasuke. It hurt that Sasuke didn't want to be touched by him but he couldn't blame the poor kid really. Sasuke had been through a lot and probably just wanted someone familiar that he'd known all his life to comfort him. It still hurt though knowing Sasuke couldn't even look at him.


Sasuke felt instantly guilty at seeing Naruto’s reaction. He really did want to be able to let Naruto touch him but it was just too soon for his mind to focus on anything having to do with the blonde. With Naruto came thoughts of his sexual life and that was definitely something he really didn’t want to think about.

Itachi made his way toward the bed and wrapped his arms around Naruto, pulling the man close. “Don’t take it personally I know he still loves you, it’s just hard for him right now to show affection.” With that the raven let go and sat in the chair next to Sasuke’s bed.

Naruto nodded and smiled to prove that he hadn't taken it personally even if the smile looked a little weak. He just wanted Sasuke to be happy and feel safe and if that meant Itachi was the one Sasuke wanted then it would be wrong to impose on Sasuke at all until he was ready. "It's alright, I understand. I love you Sasuke, I'll see you both tomorrow morning."

Itachi watched sadly as the blonde exited the room and wanted desperately to be able to be in two places at once. He didn’t want his master to be alone and yet he just couldn’t leave Sasuke by himself. The raven took a hold of Sasuke’s hand and was about to say something when he noticed the younger man had fallen asleep. Well at least he was resting, but for how long? Itachi had no doubt that Sasuke would have nightmares over what had happened to him and knew that the night would be a rather long one but he knew that no matter what, he would always be there for his brother if and when he woke. The raven just hoped the recovery process wouldn’t be too much for Sasuke to handle; he was so fragile already and now with the new added trauma… It would be a real test of will power and strength… for all three of them.

TBC

Next chapter will be the last so be prepared!!!