A grain of truth

VII

Pallid lilac eyes read each letter and word with utmost unbreakable concentration in the silent living room, a laptop revealing word documents on its screen and several papers scattered across the wooden table. The clock was ticking but he wasn’t aware of it, nor of the quiet footsteps growing louder and louder as the blonde walked near him with a tray of biscuits and steaming coffee.



The slight thud was what had torn Neji’s eyes away from the fourth page of the fifty-five page subpoena and he looked up.



“It’s already…” Neji glanced at the clock located at the bottom right corner of the laptop. “Four-thirty-three, why are you still awake?”



“I just woke up. Don’t worry, I just came here to bring you something. Don’t strain yourself. You’ve got a long day ahead of you tomorrow.” The blonde didn’t bother to sit down, knowing full well that Neji needed concentration the most right then, and being there was just distracting the raven. The case he was reviewing would be used for his hearing later in the afternoon, the JR transit tragedy case had been on trial in the supreme court for almost sixteen years already and it had been passed on to Neji from his mentor and father who had died working on the case to put the Akatsuki whose group members weren’t exposed to the media permanently behind bars for life, and the others especially the leader to execution. And the hopes of the family members of those who had died of that tragedy to avenge them rest solely on Neji’s shoulders.



“The trial will probably take three to five days… but if things go well the decision might go down tomorrow.” Naruto smiled encouragingly at Neji, leaning in to kiss the man’s forehead.



“God is on our side. I’ll wait for you at home tomorrow. Just call me if you want something different for dinner ‘k?”



“Yeah…”



“Then I’ll go back to sleep. No matter what the results will be, I want to celebrate with you. It’s Christmas eve later after all.”



Seeing Neji’s face relax, Naruto carefully went back to their room, knees nearly buckling as his calm expression changed to that of suppressed pain and he gripped tightly on his abdomen, the other hand clutching at the door with equal force. Beads of sweat trickled on his forehead and the rest of his face and neck.



The labor’s already started but he knew they won’t come out that soon, Neji can get angry at him for not telling but he didn’t want Neji to worry or cancel the hearing for him, the case was just too important for Neji for Naruto to burden him with his condition. Neji would leave early in the morning for a meeting with the other lawyers so he could take that time to prepare himself and go to the hospital afterwards.



He had already called Tsunade and Sakura so he just had to go there and bear the labor pains for a while. After all it’s just childbirth, and it’s caesarian, what could go wrong?



+++



The opening of the building of the Supreme Court wasn’t only covered with media men but also the relatives of those who had died in the JR transit tragedy doing noise barrages and rallies each with their own animal effigies of the Akatsuki members that they were burning. They were so many that the police force had to add a couple hundred of men to join in on the operation to keep them from forcing their way inside.



To them their hero was Hyuga Neji whose father died fighting in their place, and to them their family was Uchiha Sasuke who lost his whole clan, two prominent people in the society they, the ordinary commoners knew that can relate to them the most.



*JR-Japan Railway, if you don’t know. I think I’d already mentioned it before, bu’ just makin’ sure.



“Sasuke, you okay?”



“Yeah, don’t worry…” Sasuke shook his head, lowering it afterwards as he kept still inside the white limousine, fighting for that frightening feeling inside of him to disappear. He was angry, he was afraid, but the fear weighed more than the anger he had towards his brother. Itachi wasn’t no ordinary murderer, because he killed neither for fun or for anger, he had killed a thousand men without any reason at all, and Itachi told him one day on that first and last visit that Itachi could still sleep soundly, that he had killed because before he realized it his mind was already thinking of it, his hand was already moving to do it. Itachi had told him that day, wearing the smiling expression on his face as if he was telling Sasuke some fairy tale like he had done plenty times when they were still kids that the Leader said he had the incomparable talent to kill. And that praise had amused him so he continued. That’s what’s so frightening about Itachi, he was so unfeeling, like a delicate beautifully made china doll with a deadly sword in its hand, ready to slash and stab with the slight turning of the key on its back.



“Sir?” The driver looked at the rear view mirror, noticing how his master was paler than what he usually was.



“Go back…”



“Huh? Sasuke aren’t you going to attend the hearing?”



“Schiltz, let’s go back. Turn off the damn t.v. I just want to be left alone.”



“To the main house sir?” The foreign looking driver pushed a certain button beside the meter, turning the LCD television hanging on the ceiling and making it slide up until it was gone.



“No… bring me to the Princess Hotel, but send Sayuri home before that.”



“Sasuke what are you saying? We’ve come all this way and-”



“Shut up.” One hint of menace in that tone and the usually cheerful woman went silent, pushing herself close to the door, far away from Sasuke because just then she thought he wore the same look Itachi wore when he had killed Higashi right in front of them. It was just too abnormal for her to love him and fear him at the same time.



+++



“God… ouch…” Naruto stuck himself close to the wall as he struggled to keep himself from collapsing entirely on the ground, who knew that there would be much traffic on the road to the subway? And fuck if he knew that the JR transit was on strike today, whoops he had to apologize for cursing later. Many people rallying on certain areas kept on blocking some roads and creating a heavy traffic that he had lost hope and just got out of the cab, hoping that he wouldn’t collapse while walking to the hospital.



“Please help me… only a kilometer to go… it didn’t feel this far before…”



Why now!?



The feeling as if his stomach was already about to burst any minute because of the frequent restlessness of the babies inside him and the heady pain shooting on every limbs made him collapse on the side walk finally, his bag prepared already with clothes, diapers and deposit money lying under him as he heaved in a ‘hee hoo’ manner just as Sakura had told him to ease the pain.



It did work, but it wasn’t making the pain go away entirely.



“God if you were… going to give… me Eve’s organs… why didn’t you give it to me… entirely? You… could’ve… put a little… more effort to add some-ah! Ouch! Nggghhh… haa… haa…” It didn’t help that the weather was about ten degrees Celsius and below, if he’s not going to die of childbirth then he’d surely die of cold especially when he felt small puffs of pint sized snow slowly fluttered down from the dark murky sky like the angels were having a pillow fight beyond the dark skies. It was after all a cold Christmas eve.



And as if God had heard of his distress, he in all his dizziness heard the sharp screeching of a car, the loud slamming of the door. And Sasuke’s voice had never sounded so angelic in Naruto’s ears he couldn’t help crying in the raven’s chest.



“What the fuck-hold on! Is it coming out yet?” It was an understatement to say Sasuke was getting frantic, he was panicking that he thought of nothing but act on impulse and carry Naruto in his arms along with the bag and put him inside the car.



“Sasuke wha-”



“Move I said! Schiltz to the hospital!!! Quick!” With an intimidating glare Sayuri moved to the opposite side of the seat, staring incredulously at the concerned face of the stoic Sasuke as he gently put the near unconscious blonde on the seat.



Nearly hyperventilating, Sasuke held Naruto’s hand, wincing at how the blonde was holding it so tight he thought his hand was going to get crushed.



“I… can’t take it anymore!!! It hurts!!!!” Sasuke yelled the near impossible order to the bewildered driver, saying that it would take at least an hour before the traffic loosens up again because of the people rallying in front of them.



“Naruto, hold on, calm down, we’ll get you there any time soon just don’t faint. Don’t worry… I’m here… I’m here…” As Sasuke whispered comforting words to the blonde, Sayuri could just watched, amazed, disbelieving and hurt all at the same time that she failed to notice Sasuke going out of the car and leaving Naruto to her care with a warning.



Sayuri uncertain of what to do did the same thing she saw Sasuke do earlier, all the while hearing Naruto mutter Neji’s name repeatedly in her half unconscious state. From the window she had watched Sasuke scream at the people rallying in front of them, saw them be caught by surprise, follow uncertainly, and make way for the car behind them, looking most intimidated at the Uchiha’s appearance.



“Step on it Schiltz!” Sasuke yelled at the driver at the top of his lungs as he got into the car and pushed Sayuri aside to take his place beside the blonde. The driver just nodded and he did step on it, all through the ten minute drive Sayuri didn’t know if she should get angry at Naruto, pity him for his state or cry to herself. She had never seen Sasuke’s face display so many expressions and feelings all at the same time that it hurt, because the reason behind it was Naruto.



The white limousine was welcomed by a group of nurses lead by a golden haired woman and a light redhead with a medical bed ready on the entrance of the hospital co-owned by the Uchihas and the Hyugas. “Don’t worry… the pain will go away soon… I love you…”



In his hazed state Naruto thought he heard Neji say ‘I love you’, there were so many things he had missed, but he had felt them all. The rattling of the bed he was lying in as the nurses pushed it inside the operating room, how he was carried by men from the medical bed to the operating table, he even felt the stinging sensation of needles being pushed through the skin of his arm, the back of his hand, how he was made to lie on the side and as he squeezed his eyes shut as something sharp and slightly long was inserted inside his spine, felt his arms and feet secured with cloth like binds that sounded to him like Velcro getting opened then closed. And then the world stated to slip away, felt his whole body go numb, but he willed himself to move his feet, his toe any part of his body out of fear when Tsunade had asked him to do it or they’re not going to operate him, before he closed his eyes, the last thing he felt was a plastic mask being put over his mouth, making breathing a little less difficult for him, and the last thing he saw wasn’t what he wanted to see… the blinding light of the fluorescent light on the ceiling, and two pools of deep black eyes… not pallid lilac ones.



He felt himself smile. Or he had thought he had smiled at the sound that his awakened senses recognized. There was still no feeling, but rather there was the tugging of something on his lower belly, which he was sure were the doctors stitching him up, but amidst the clinical voices, there were those joyful sounds that seemed to make him want to lift his eyes open. The cries of new born babies. He wanted to touch them with his own hands, see with his own eyes… but no, he couldn’t move, still couldn’t lift his eyes but he was sure he was awake, and he was sure that by the time he eventually lifts his eyes the memory of the very first breath and cries of his babies would still linger in his mind.



For now, he would sleep again.



+++



“… Guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”



Neji couldn’t contain his happiness as the voice of that woman repeatedly echoed in his brain, the shouts and cries of victory from his colleagues, his relatives and friends and the whole of Japan jumped for joy almost at the same time.



It took him longer than expected, refusing ambush interviews, refusing invites for victory parties, he didn’t want to do anything else… what he wanted was to go home, and be welcomed in his lover’s arms. A thousand congratulations and the most expensive dinner were meaningless compared to Naruto’s smile and deliciously home cooked meals.



But what welcomed him that night was a dark and empty apartment.



He searched everywhere, their room, the kitchen, the baby room even on his own floor upstairs but to no avail and then he quickly turned his phone on, fingers already scrolling down for Naruto’s name when it suddenly rang.



Sayuri. Neji thought with annoyance, he’s got no time to talk to her this minute. God knows what could have happened to Naruto. To their babies.



“Yes?” He answered gruffly, thinking of hanging up as soon as she greeted back. But then the expected congratulations didn’t come, but a more enlightening of the blonde’s whereabouts came out of her mouth.



Neji drove the speed meter to its hilt, stepping hard on the gas permanently as his hands put a firm grip on the steering wheel, turning it sharply to the right and barely making it for the car not to crash against the hospital’s sliding doors.



“Neji…”



“Where is he?” Sayuri welcomed him at the entrance of the hospital, the distress on her face further making Neji’s worry deepen in dread. He walked briskly towards the desk, Sayuri’s hand on his arm stopping him from attempting to strangle the near terrified nurse.



“Neji calm down.”



“How can I calm down!? This… while I’m there celebrating he’s here alone-”



“He’s not alone.”



“Huh?”



“Sasuke’s with him.” Immediately it was as if cold water had been thrown across his face, the immaculate features going instantly blank as Sayuri seated him down on one of the seats in the lounge, slowly narrating to him what had happened.



“… he’s in one of the suite rooms now. The nurses took care of everything-”



“Neji?” Sayuri was interrupted by one of the doctors who had attended to Naruto earlier, her worried face framed with golden locks.



“Tsunade-sensei…”



“There’s something I want to confirm with you Neji.”



“Yes?” As Neji looked up at Tsunade-sensei, he didn’t fail to notice how confused her expression was.



“I want to know. Are you and Naruto really lovers?”



“Of course! We’re engaged!” Neji looked at her as if she had just said something ridiculous.



“I was looking at the children’s files earlier, and the one whose name was signed on the father of those three wasn’t yours, it was Mr. Uchiha’s, even the names of the boys were there.”



Everything seemed to go blank around Neji, no voice, no sound went through his head as he practically closed down looking like a deer caught in the headlights as he sunk on his seat. As for Sayuri, she didn’t know how to react. She had felt before that there was something, a definite connection between those two that she had pointedly ignored because of the hurt that connection was promising for her to feel.



“Here, take a look. I didn’t put them into the registry since I knew there was some kind of mistake.” Tsunade gave a piece of paper to Neji but Sayuri was the one who had received them and then she read every piece, every character and line on the stark white sheet of paper and those characters blurred in her vision as she began to cry, collapsing heavily down the couch.



[Sasuke if something happened and we got to have children what name do you want to give them?



I don’t know… I’m never into names anyway…



Oh you’re so boring!



What about you?



Hm? I’m going to name them Hikari, Nagi or Maria.



Why Maria?



It’s my mom’s name, regardless of the gender I want to name my first born Maria.



Why Hikari and Nagi?



Well, Hikari means light of hope, I remember my mom would always say that if she had the chance to name me, it would be that. And Nagi, well, it’s because I want him to stand as a support for others, like an unbreakable pillar!



You sound like you’ve thought about this for a long time.



Of course I did!!! It’s hard and fun at the same time!



And then Maria, Hikari, Nagi and the two of us would run away, and live on the beach.



Right! In a small island!]



“How… how could this…”



*I had thought of the names in this line of thought, Maria is the name of the virgin Mary who rescues and heals, then symbolically she carries the light of hope for her people supported by a pillar to hold her high up in the heavens. Nagi is the Japanese name for beams used to support temples. I had thought of Tsubasa which means wings, but I liked Nagi more.



+++



When Naruto’s eyes snapped open, he didn’t feel heavy or heady, he knew from the first clearing of his vision that he was in a hospital room and seeing the sleeping head of the Uchiha by his side he then remembered that Sasuke was the one who helped brought him to the hospital.



Moving his fingers that were under the raven’s palm he waited for the raven to groan, to move, to wake up, he wanted so much to see his babies.



“Naruto…” Gazing at Naruto’s conscious form with tenderness he sighed aloud in relief, squeezing the blonde’s hand.



“What… where are they?”



“Don’t worry, they’re fine.”



“I… I want to see them.”



“I’m sorry, but they had to be incubated for about two weeks since they went out earlier than expected, but I assure you they’re all healthy.”



“Sasuke… did you stay here… all night?”



“I couldn’t just leave you…”



“Where’s…” And Naruto suddenly remembered that he hadn’t called Neji on purpose, just then, Sasuke’s presence seemed so different compared to Neji’s own. He would be happier to wake up to see Neji’s face.



“If you’re talking about Hyuga, he had successfully put the Akatsuki behind bars, the leader, Sasori including Itachi was put under lethal injection. Sayuri… said she’d call him earlier. He’s probably still busy because of… Naruto… why didn’t you inform him?”



“That case wasn’t only important for him, but for the people who had experienced the same tragedy as you Sasuke. If he knew, he’d probably mess up because he was worrying about me.”



“You’re really an idiot… if I hadn’t seen you that day, our kids would have…” Naruto was already getting tired of talking, but when those words left the proud Uchiha’s mouth, he put an effort to speak again.



“Sasuke?”



“I… You’ll probably hate me for what I’ve done, but I don’t regret it, and I have every right…”



“What are you talking about?”



“Our first born Maria, he’s blonde and his eyes are the same as yours, he looks so much like you.” Sasuke started, chuckling nervously as he tried to smile, but only bitterness came to show on his face. “Hikari’s two point five seconds younger, he’s got my father’s eye lines and the same hair as mine, hairy too. Nagi got both of our traits, black hair, blue eyes, skinny but the shape of his face pretty much resembles mine…”



“Sasuke you…” As the numbing slowly went away, he felt his stitches pull a little under the dressing as he gasped, something dawning on him as he continued to listen to Sasuke babble.



“I don’t want them to ignore me Naruto…” Sasuke’s voice was no larger than a squeak as he buried his face on the blonde’s arm, Naruto feeling something wet his skin. “I don’t want to see them one day and hear them call someone ‘father’ when I’m right in front of them… Naruto… after being away with you this time… I… I realized that I’ve been in love with you all this time…”



“Oh… God…” Naruto groaned, looking away but he continued to talk. “Do you realize what you’ve done? I’m engaged… to Neji, Neji Hyuga… and you’re to marry Hinata’s cousin, his cousin… Sasuke you just messed things up… God… this… this isn’t happening…”



“Uncle Hiashi… he blessed our relationship because he didn’t know about you, but this… you’ve destroyed everything Sasuke. How can I marry his niece when the father of my children is his supposed to be in-law?”



“Naru… what do you want me to do? I’ll do anything… Naruto, I’ll-I’ll break off the engagement, we’ll run away… didn’t we use to always talk about doing that? We’ll go some place where nobody knows us… Naruto… please look at me… open your eyes…” Naruto only did the opposite, because right then, he didn’t want to see how pitiful Sasuke’s expression was, the same way he didn’t want to hear the desperation in his voice.



“Sasuke a couple of months ago… if you had said that, I would have been very happy… but you see… From the start it had been impossible between us. I love you no more than a brother, a friend because you are after all the father of my kids, but Neji… I’m in love with him…” He winced as he heard Sasuke gasp softly at his confession, felt the hands on his arm tremble and clutch at his sleeves.



“Sasuke… take it back, I beg you take it back… you can say that you just did that because Neji wasn’t there… and you needed to put in something… I beg you… please…”



Why…



You would beg for that man…



Didn’t you always tell me how you loved me more than your life?



More than yourself?



“I beg you Sasuke, take it back… I won’t deny them of you, you’re free to see them just… take it back…”



“You didn’t tell me I couldn’t claim them.”



“Neither did I tell you that you could. Everything’s changed Sasuke. You have to accept that. From the start, you have never been mine although I gave myself to you. Now I can finally be happy… please don’t forsake our children’s happiness for your selfish reasons. What you have done… it was already too late Sasuke.”



I had died the moment you turned your back on me.



I had died. The man who had loved you so selflessly, the lover who was not loved had died a long time ago. Just like how roses depraved of water and sunlight slowly wither to their death.



“I’ll… do as you say…” The raven’s bangs shadowed his eyes from view as he kept his head low, literally dragging his feet out of the suite room.



“Sasuke.” And he paused.



“You don’t need to change the names back, they will remain… I can give you that right at least as the father of my children.” Sasuke nodded, not turning back and he continued to walk towards the door, shutting the door quietly behind him, he proceeded to the direction of the hospital desk.



“Thank you…” Naruto sighed gratefully and he willed himself to sleep.



+++



When Neji finally arrived, Naruto was taken aback by the lack of expression in Neji’s face. He was silent, and that although he had asked Naruto if he was okay his voice lacked the concern he used to always hear lace the Hyuga’s voice. All through the time that Tsunade was asking about his condition Neji just stood there, taking attention to peeling apples that he would eat himself and then throw the half of it in the trash bin, only to pick up another apple and then peel it again doing the same thing.



“You’re not permitted to do anything strenuous for a year. That means no rough activities on the bed, on the living room or any kind of place get me?” Tsunade had attempted to get a rise of the stoic man, but to no avail, his actions were so disturbing that she couldn’t help regretting she had ever told him about that issue, if she knew that the bastard Uchiha was going to take it back after. Also it was making Hiashi who was also in the same room uncomfortable.



“Also, you can’t eat seafood, hard to digest stuff, pineapple and fibrous food. You can leave here after a week, although you can stay until the babies have been fully incubated. I’ll leave you here a list of pain killers, you can practice walking inside this room to exercise your muscles after four days or so…”



“Yes…”



“About the medical bills…”



“We’ll cover that up, don’t worry Tsunade-sensei.” The blonde woman nodded in response to the co-founder of the hospital, talking to Naruto again.



“Because you have triplets, I advise you to get a nurse maid. We can’t have your stitches getting reopened because of stress.”



Tsunade then excused herself to leave, taking on one last sad glance towards the indifferent Hyuga sitting on the stool next to the window.



“All three of them are beautiful, the first born looks so much like you.” Hiashi started, sitting on the bedside of Naruto.



“Yeah, I’m so excited to get out of here and see them myself. I wish days would go faster.” But the conversation trailed off to silence, the both of them not being able to take their eyes off Neji who had been acting like a rock ever since Hiashi had set eyes on the boy.



Exchanging uneasy glances, Hiashi excused himself for the night, not bothering to tell Neji because he was pretty much lost in his own world peeling apples then.



‘Did he know?’



*Ah the advantages of being operated because of an ovarian cyst, please note that while I was doing this I was recalling the excruciating pains I experienced before the operation with overlapping shudders running up my spine and yes it’s true that some people, me for example get conscious about their surroundings after an hour or so during the last parts of the operation, my mind was very awake even though my lids were heavy I could actually feel something tugging in my lower belly though I’m all numb, people often don’t believe me when I tell them that I don’t have a child, because the stitch on my belly was very much like the ones they see on a caesarian operated woman. It also kinda helps that my mother gave birth to me through CS so yeah! I interviewed her! She said she felt like a pig getting ready before the slaughter –bad description-, oooh she pretty much got a huge dosage of anesthesia many times all through the operation, she said. I know you’re not interested, but I’m just blabbing, I grew too much inside her womb and she labored for a whole day, a whopping seven to eight pounds. Man I can’t imagine, so that’s why she loves me so much?



What's wrong with me? Somehow i'm getting the feeling that i have a fixation for numerals....