Little Drummer Boy

Thanks so much to ALL who have reviewed!!

Next chapter will no longer be a flashback, its gonna be new stuff.

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The man smiles softly at me, a gun smoking in his hand as he nods his head softly, "I received word not more than an hour ago that my little brother was in extreme need of backup so I brought my men as quickly as our steeds would take us." I blink.

It can't be....Itachi was killed two months ago in battle, was he not? Had the government lied to us or did they simply not know?

My eyes search his face as my lips slowly part, before I can utter a word his stance shifts and his pistol is in the air. Three shots are fired right at my direction causing my eyes to bulge in disbelief. I hear a gasp in my left ear then the thunk I have come to hear even in my dreams as a body slams into the ground behind me.

"Now now little brother, this isn't the time to be acting like you have seen a ghost. I believe you are in the middle of something important?" With that he quickly steps away, his thick soled boots crumpling the blood soaked earth below.

My mind snaps back into reality and my arm whips around me like a leave caught in a gust of wind, I continue to fight my way forward with a look upon my face that I know must scream my inability to focus on the situation at hand.

There is a sharp ache gnawing away at the back of my skull and I start to believe that is the only thing keeping me grounded, the only thing telling me this is not lies feed to me in my sleep. I blink as I realize where I am headed, my body seems drawn to this direction...to this boy and nothing I say to myself can stop me from continuing to rush to his aid.

That feeling frustrates me, I don't know whats wrong with me or if maybe this boy is using some sort of witchcraft to lure me into his clutches.

I kneal at his side and assess the amount of damage he has taken, my eyes can only briefly scan his body before I wrap my arm around his back and sling him over my shoulder. Sheathing my sword I bare my second pistol and start for the back of the battle fields.

The deafening sounds of canon and gun fire is starting to lessen and now there is only a few air piercing shots that ring into my ears as I hold the boy. Moans and shameless cries for help start to fall over our ears.

To me this is always the worst time of war, the part I dread the most....the time that makes my gut ache and my head swim. I can't stand the sight of the aftermath of my 'talents'.

Pools of blood stream down the ground and mingle together to make one, blood from each soldier, each man, enemies made to fight during their life now are bound together by the blood they each helped shed. Its a grusome reality that neary crippled my mind the first time I had to experience it. Of course I've never showed how it all disturbs me so.

I step over the fallen corpse of one of my own comrades and see that his body is strewn over top of an enemy, ironic that in death it looks as if he is trying to protect his own brother when he is most likely the one who had ended his life.

It all seems so meaningless to me, war...the killing of others for an idea....but I fight for my family, for my honor....for my brother's honor...or at least that is what I had thought.

Finally I make it to the back camps, my men having been following behind me in streams though I didn't even notice. I make my way to the tent I had set up myself last night with my men and dunk inside. I gently lay the boy on the bed and make sure he is as comfortable as possible before leaving once more and going to find the woman who is suppose to be healing our wounded.

I enter the tent with my head hung low. Glancing to the side I see the boys face, its more peaceful than then any expression I've ever seen. Taking my place on a wooden chair beside the cot my brows furrow, I can only hope the call of death is not too alluring to the boy.

"Death's merciful face is only a facade, boy. Do not fall for its tricks." I whisper softly to his sleeping form.

Suddenly, as if my voice shocked him from deaths slow embrace, his nose twitches and his fingers grip the sheets below. He takes a deep breath while slowly his eyes flutter open. Coming closer to him I can't help the strain that squeezes my heart like the boy has reached inside and taken ahold. A small smile creases up his dry lips as his hand extends toward me.

"Ma always says worrying will make ya older.” he whispers softly as his fingers gently cup my cheek. As my heart clenches like a fist in my chest I chuckle softly, remembering the only advice my mother had ever given me before she parted ways with Earthly life was to not let Itachi make me feel like less of a man.

The boy struggles against the pain and I can see he wants to sit up, to move around. I can't blame him, I'd be the same if I were in his position. But he is young and weak so I can not allow him to harm himself farther. I press my hand into his chest softly. He looks to me with wide eyes, “You are too weak, and have lost too much blood to be doing much of anything.”

Resting back into the bed with a submissive nod I feel his eyes glued to me, I shift in my chair with a feeling of unease.

“Where am I…and what happened at the battlefield?” his voice suddenly floods my ears. I can't let him see my face at this moment, who knows what my eyes could reveal...I dont want to seem weak in front of one of my men, be he a boy or not.

“We were saved…a group of reinforcements arrived just in time to save the rest of us.” I say nothing of the brother I had thought to be dead for the last two months. I still hadn't dealt with my feelings for that completely and suddenly he shows up in a blaze of glory.

Just in the nick of time I hear my tent flaps open and my spirits lift. The medic has finally made it to....I look to see a man in uniform ducking into my tent. My fists clench my knee as I glare at the man.
I dont understand my quick distaste for the man, I've hardly ever seen him before...it feels a bit like jealousy. I watch their exchange of greetings and the fond way Naruto is staring at the brunette.
I get the urge to yell at the man who barged into my tent without permission but all those feelings dash away when I hear that one simple word roll from the blond's lips, 'Brother.'
My insides crumple as my mind shouts, "Of course his brother, why else would someone barge into a captains tent to see a wounded boy. What else was I to think."
A few moments pass and finally the brunette exits the tent, I dont even yell at him for not acknowledging me as the commanding Captain. I just sit there staring at the dirt floor.

When a soft hand lands on my knee I glance at his blood stained appendage, “I owe you my life Captain…whatever you want of me…it is yours…I let you down…and was a fool…I must repay my debt to you, to regain any honor.”

This boy is something else, I feel myself smile as I lock eyes with him, such a strange child. “No Naruto…it was I who let you down. You are a brave and honorable soldier; it was the rest of my men who let me down…never you.” and it is true, never have I seen more honor in any one man than I have in this barely 15 lad.

A sudden feeling whelms up inside me, swirling in my mind, causing my finger's to twitch. I have the need to touch him, I can't understand it...I lean forward, the aged squealing of the wood not even snapping me from my trance-like state. Just before I reach his skin I gently grab hold of his shirt and pull it slowly, to get a better look of his wounds.

Nice save. I think in a panicked rush. He tries to shift his position on the bed, I feel sorry for him when I see his whole body tense and he is forced to rest back in his previous position. I must get this shirt off him, for the medic to get better access.

Biting my lower lip I lean forward and wrap my arm around him and hold him up as I remove his shirt. My eyes widen when I feel his body shiver against my own, I resist the urge to hold him closer as I lean back and give him a questioning look. Now half naked and laying on my bed I see the boy is embarrassed, red starting to tint his youthful cheeks.

I hear footsteps approaching the door and quickly hold the boy in place as she steps in, the horror that rushes behind his eyes feels me with a sense of regret. I feel it is my fault the boy is so badly injuried...I should have protected him.

I dont know why but I feel so...drawn to this boy.

Walking around the cot I watch the women pulling items from her bag as she survives the damage.

A breath shudders from my chest as my fingers press out the lines on the blanket behind the boy, I'm delaying myself...I know why, but I dont know why I'm feeling this way. As I slowly lower myself I feel as if everyone can hear my heart pounding, can see my muscles shaking just slightly. Why is this boy affecting me so, I've only just meet him and half that time was when we were both getting wounded.

Suddenly my body relaxings, 'That must be it...its just the need to feel close to someone who has been through the same thing as me, nothing more.'

I reach forward and grab his hands and pull them to his chest, I must restrain him. I know all to well the pain that is about to be inflicted on him.

Not able to help my elevated heart rate my breathing has deeped, and I can see its affecting him. A feeling in my groin stirs as he shivers.

Finally the doctor seems to take notice of us and gives me a strange look, she can obviously read our unstated emotions. I grunt, telling her to move on with it as I refocus my attention on the boy.

“This will be very painful Naruto,” I pause to lean forward so he will be the only one to hear me, but I over estimate my closeness and my lips teasingly ghost over the surface of his skin and I hold him closer on reflex,” but afterwards I promise to make everything all better.”

God not even I know exactly what I mean by that statement, but none-the-less he relaxes ever so slightly.

I rest my chin on his shoulder and take a deep breathe, not even I can watch as the needle enters his flesh for the first stitch.

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I wasn't very pleased with this chapter but what can I do but bitch at myself? Haha

Thank you for your time!