1928

Naruto opened the remains of the door going into the club. The place was in shambles, there was blood on the floors and tables, broken glass everywhere. People were standing up, cradling loved ones and sobbing. Jiraiya cut past Naruto with Sai, who looked over Jiraiya’s shoulder at Naruto. His deep eyes were clouded over with pain, but his face was serene as he looked fondly at Naruto. Naruto trotted along by his side, touching Sai’s arms and back as much as he could in an attempt to comfort him. They made it to the back of the club where Tsunade and her posse were waiting.
“What’s with the Oda kid, Jiraiya?” She snapped coolly.
“He’s been shot, Tsunade, we need you help.” Jiraiya said, clutching Sai somewhat protectively.
“Oh, no, I am not doing that again…” Tsunade said, backing away with a glare.
“Tsunade, we were all in that war. He needs your help. And had it not been for him, they would have gotten away with Naruto.”
The woman let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, but you owe me big.” She said, turning and exiting the back door. The climbed the stairs to Kakashi’s apartment, pounding on the door.
The curtains parted and moment’s later Kakashi opened it.
“Hope you don’t mind, we need to borrow your kitchen table.”
Kakashi spotted the blood and stepped aside, showing them the way to the kitchen. He brought back some sheets and spread them out on the table. Jiraiya laid Sai down, pulling off the thin jacket and even thinner shirt. Naruto drank up the sight of the porcelain pale skin, stained red with blood. Sai was…beautiful. Naruto took a stance beside Sai’s head as Tsunade prodded at the wound with her fingertips.
“Okay, Kakashi, get me some Vodka, some tongs, a butter knife, and a bowl of water... you know, the works. Sakura, I need you to standby. Shizune, run down the block and call the pigs, tell ’em what happened.”
Kakashi went around gathering supplies while Tsunade rid Sai of the rest of his clothes. She glared at the worn out state of most of them but said nothing.
“Jiraiya, Mr. Namikaze, I need you two to hold him down once this starts.”
They both nodded in agreement. Shizune donned her coat and left while Sakura stood behind Tsunade. Kakashi handed her the vodka and she tore off a strip of cloth, saturating it before dabbing at the wound. She ran the vodka over her hands before taking a swig from the bottle and setting it down.
“Okay…Minato, you take his left leg, Kakashi, his right. Jiraiya, stabilize his hips. Shizune returned and took his arm while Naruto had his other arm, rubbing and stroking it as he rested his head on Sai’s porcelain shoulder. He reached up and touched Sai’s silken hair. Sai let out a scream as Sakura pushed the tongs into the wound and held them open.
Naruto dimly heard Tsunade say the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked. Naruto let his lips brush against the other boy’s cheek.
“SShhh…It’s going to be okay…” Naruto whispered, more to himself rather than to Sai. But it worked. Sai fell quiet, his endless eye’s staring deeply into Naruto’s. He shut his eyes as Tsunade pried the bullet out, dropping it on the table. She took the needle and thread that Kakashi brought her and sewed the opening shut while Sakura dabbed at it with a rag. Sai was holding his breath while Naruto stroked his hair. He found his lips brushing against the other boy’s cheek.
“Okay, were good to go.” Tsunade said, tying a knot in the thread. The men let go of Sai, but Naruto remained, though pulling away slightly.
“Let’s move him to the spare bedroom.” Kakashi said, lifting the sheet slightly.
Jiraiya nodded, taking the other end.
“Careful, don’t let the wound open up…” Tsunade said as Mr. Namikaze took up the middle, supporting the boy’s weight. Naruto followed behind like a puppy, albeit a concerned puppy, but a puppy nonetheless. They laid Sai on the bed gently, Tsunade checking his wound again before running a bandage around his waist.
“Naruto, you stay here with Sai, okay?” Kakashi said, touching Naruto’s shoulder as he left.
Naruto climbed up on the bed next to Sai, putting his arm around the other boy’s shoulder like his mother used to.
He wanted to stay here and protect the other boy forever, and never let him out of his sight.
Sai looked up at him, his dark eyes filled with tears of pain that refused to fall.
“Hey…” He said, his voice low and gravelly. “I…I came back…I…wanted to see you.”
“You…came back? Where were you? Did you go somewhere?”
Sai smiled, his perfect lips curving up beautifully.
“I…worked off my debt to Mrs. Chin… and I went to live with some other boys on the western edge of town, near the Orphan Girl mine. I heard that you would be here tonight…” Sai closed his eyes, the dark lashes curving upwards in his smile.
“Sai… thank you…thank you for saving me…” Naruto said, touching Sai’s face gently. The tears that had once refused to fall were now flowing freely down the porcelain skin.
“Naruto…I…I missed you so much…I tried to lean where they took you, but… the old lady wouldn’t spill… “ He said, taking a shuddering breath as he bit back the pain. Naruto leaned down and kissed Sai on the cheek, tasting the tears on his lips. Sai closed his deep eyes, sighing softly. Naruto curled up beside him, covering him with the blankets and wrapping his arms around the other boy’s shoulders. Sai leaned his head on Naruto’s shoulder, his soft black hair brushing against the other boy’s face. He closed his eyes and drifted off in Naruto’s warm arms.

Sai woke up a couple hours later, Naruto’s arms still firmly around his shoulders. He saw a dark shadow standing next to the bed. A pale hand reached down, brushing the hair from his face.
“Hello, Mr. Oda…” A cool, soft voice cut through the air, making Sai thankful for the warmth of the other boy’s body. “You and I…we’ve never met before…My name is Orrochimaru, I’m a friend of Sasuke’s…you know Sasuke, right?”
Sai nodded, unsure if the man could see him or not. In the darkness, he saw the man smile. “Well, Sai…Sasuke has asked me a personal favor…you don’t have to accept if you don’t want to…”
Sai’s eyes widened.
“What…what is it?” He asked quietly, careful not to wake Naruto up. Orrochimaru leaned closer to the boy, cupping his cheek in his hands, which were as cold as his voice. Orrochimaru’s lips brushed across the boy’s cheek.
“You’ve been asked to stay with me at my house on the north west end of town…not far from here, actually. If you come with me…you’ll be able to see Mr. Uzumaki more often…”
Sai narrowed his eyes. He knew from experience that nothing in life came without a hitch. “And what do I have to do in exchange?” He whispered.
“Oh, nothing…for now…but when you’re older, I was hoping you would accept me as…a client.” Sai felt a cold tongue slip out and brush against his ear. He shivered, looking over at the boy sleeping next to him. Naruto looked almost angelic, his blond hair ruffled up against the down pillow. Sai’s dark eyes closed momentarily as he thought about the proposition. He weighed his options, the pros and cons as Orrochimaru’s impatient hand caressed his cheek. Sai took a deep breath as he made is decision.
“I’ll do it…” He said quietly, looking more at Naruto than at Orrochimaru.
He heard a soft chuckle in the darkness.
“Good boy.” He said softly. “I’ll bring you to my house tonight and have Kabuto look after you…” he said, brushing his lips against Sai’s cheek.
Sai watched the man leave, a shiver running down his spine. He felt uncontrollable fear as he huddled closer against Naruto’s chest. Naruto opened a bleary blue eye and smiled at him.
“Be careful, Sai…I don’t want you stitches opening up again…” He said, burying his face in the dark haired boy’s neck. Sai smiled to himself. Whatever Orrochimaru would do, it was worth it to be near the bright entity that was Naruto. He sighed contentedly as Naruto pulled him close and held him.
Slowly, Sai drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Jiraiya came in quietly about an hour later, shaking Naruto gently awake.
“Hey, kiddo…It’s time to go…”
“But…what about Sai?” Naruto asked, Pulling his arm from beneath the sleeping teen.
“Tsunade say’s he’ll be all right in a little while, but for now, you and I need to get out of here.” Naruto sat up, putting his shoes back on and glancing over at Sai, who was fast asleep. It was then Naruto noticed that Sai’s ribs stuck out unhealthily, and his eyes looked a little more sunken. At the time, Naruto blamed it on the dim lighting.
Naruto stood up, recovering Sai with the blanket, taking extra time to smooth out the wrinkles and tucking it in. Sai stirred slightly but didn’t wake, his soft black hair clinging lightly to the pillow. Naruto looked back at Jiraiya, who had turned away for a moment to suppress a sneeze. He took this moment to steal a soft kiss from Sai. Jiraiya recovered and took Naruto by the arm.
“Come on, kiddo, let’s go.”
Naruto looked over his shoulder at Sai’s sleeping form as Jiraiya led him out by the shoulders.

It was dark and quiet, the silence almost ringing in Naruto's ears as Jiraiya led him down the stairs to his green sports car. Once they were both inside, he started the enigine and pulled away, heading south and west towards the cemetary, but not stopping there.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to go see a friend, Naruto, maybe you should get some sleep..."