Part 2
Dark eyes flashed red as he scanned the area before him and at the scenery. High walls, guard towers and the tell-tale kanji on the gates signaled that he had finally reached his destination. Konohagakure no Sato…Home.
Uchiha Sasuke shifted the burlap sack he held in his gloved hand, feeling his burden shift within, but he paid it no mind. Even though he was back at the place of his birth, that didn't matter to him. Only one thing alone was the reason why he had traveled for three days straight, barely stopping to rest or eat, mainly sustaining himself off water and the soldier pills specially designed by Yakushi Kabuto.
He could feel the effects of the last pill wearing off quickly, so he knew he had to move quickly before the side effects hit. He knew that once they did, he would be vulnerable. He had to make it to his precious person before that happened for he knew that he would be safe with his Dobe. The one person he would kill for and had killed for,…Uzumaki Naruto, the one and only self-proclaimed future Rokudaime.
His heart pounded within his chest and a weary smile traced his lips. After all this time away, the golden haired teen was just over those walls. He would get to see the amazing and vibrant blue eyes that haunted his dreams for the last three years. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke knew that he loved his dobe and being a man of few words, he would express his feelings for the younger teen in the only way he could.
This time, when their lips met, it would not be an accident. He didn’t care if Naruto got angry with him, at least his feelings would be clear to even his dobe that he didn’t want Sakura or Ino…he wanted the holder of the kyuubi no kitsune, Konoha's number one surprising ninja and no other…
'Three years of planning has finally paid off..' Sasuke thought as he ensured the masking of his chakra before quickly darting forward and heading deep into the heart of Konoha, straight to the apartment of the man he loved.
o-o
Gloved fingers pushed dark strands of hair from his eyes as he watched two chuunin on patrol pass his hiding spot. In the confined alleyway, he was glad that he cast the jutsu that Orochimaru had once used on the burlap sack. The added smell that the bag would produce along with the scent of garbage would have him losing the bile that currently occupied his empty stomach.
When the patrol had passed, dark eyes moved up the window of his love's apartment. Once again, his lips upturned in a small, honest smile. In a move reminiscent of his genin days, Sasuke channeled his chakra into his feet and quickly scaled the wall to the window. As he allowed himself to locate his dobe's chakra within the small apartment, his heart stilled in his chest.
Naruto's unique chakra signature was weak…extremely weak. Even before leaving the blond haired ninja at the Valley of the End, his chakra was still pulsing in his unconscious form. Without further hesitation, the last Uchiha began to make his way into the apartment.
-o-o-
He couldn't open his eyes nor could he move his arms or legs. He knew that it was to be expected. As the poison coursed through his blood, affecting his nervous system, he knew that his limbs were paralyzed. It was getting harder and harder to breath, but he didn't fight it.
The sound of breaking glass reached his ears followed by heavy footfalls and a familiar voice reached his ears…one that he had longed to hear for three years.
"Naruto!"
'Kit! He's here! Hang on!' Kyuubi pleaded with her holder as she fought to dull the intense pain that he would be feeling otherwise.
'No…its just my mind playing tricks on me…' He thought as his heart contracted painfully. It wasn't a side effect of the Tetrodotoxin, but the painful reminder of his missing friend's voice. Darkness encroached on his mind as the decreasing oxygen began to effect his brain.
o-o
Sasuke's blood dripped steadily as he crossed the glass littered kitchen floor, calling to the blond. Quickly he moved to the living room and found the blond laying on the couch. If anyone were to have seen the blond, there is a chance that they would have believed he was simply sleeping, that is, until you truly looked at the teen.
His chest was moving erratically. One breath was drawn in and released and then there was no movement and then a small gasp was heard. His lips and skin held a blue tinge that he had seen on a few different occasions, usually as a result of Orochimaru's anger when he clamped his vise-like hand around some unfortunate subordinate's throat.
"Naruto!" He dropped the sack and rushed over to the dobe's side and saw the single drop of moisture that trailed from the corner of the blond's eye.
Sasuke took a moment and surveyed the scene. The slippers that were too neatly placed by the couch and the way that the younger man was posed where he lie was all too precise. As he crouched by his friend, sharingan eyes noticed the small vial that rest on the table next to the teens shuriken, it was then that he knew…
Naruto had poisoned himself.
"What in the fuck were you thinking, dobe!!" The crimson-eyed Uchiha growled and grabbed the small vial and rushed to the front door. He yanked it open before moving to scoop up the smaller boy. Careful as to not crush or drop the vial, knowing they would need it to identify the poison, Sasuke darted across the rooftops to the hospital. He knew that they would summon the one person he knew would be able to help his friend.
o-o-o
"HOKAGE-SAMA!!!!"
Tsunade jolted awake, sending a bottle of perfectly good sake to the ground. A few of the files that she had reviewed fell to the floor as golden brown eyes narrowed when Iruka came crashing into her office. She quelled the desire to tear into the chuunin teacher when she saw the look of devastation and fear in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Iruka?" She asked.
"Sasuke!! He's returned and…" His voice became choked as he forced himself to continue. "He has Naruto! They're at the hospital and they need you or Naruto is going to die."
"What?!" She slammed her hands on the desktop, creating cracks in the surface before following him out of her office. "Did he hurt my gaki?! I will kill him myself if he hurt Naruto!" She fumed as they darted over rooftops towards the hospital.
"No, it wasn't like that. Sasuke found Naruto unconscious…there was a vial on the table. Naruto was unconscious when he got there and he took him straight to the hospital."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the mention of a vial, remembering that a vial of Tetrodotoxin had been stolen from the stores. 'Gaki, you didn't…' she thought grimly as the arrived at the hospital and rushed through the corridors.
They arrived to find the last Uchiha looking quite pale and surrounded by four members of ANBU as his blood dripped to the ground through the towel around his shredded hand. The sharingan was still active as he turned to her, the desperation clear in his face as his body shook.
"Hokage-sama…" Sasuke began to sway as the last bit of strength that had been given to him thanks to the soldier pill was sapped from his body. He sank to his knee and bowed pleadingly to the leader of Konoha. "Please…help him." He collapsed to the cold tile into the darkness that exhaustion had brought.
She looked to the four ANBU. "Take him for treatment and make sure he's restrained for now. I want two of you on guard outside of the room at all times and two on the roof. Put all Chuunin and Jounin on high alert. We don't know if this is some sort of trap or if Orochimaru is on his way here to recover Sasuke as we speak. Understood?!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" They said before two carried Sasuke to a room down the hall as the other two left to do her bidding.
She then turned to the brown haired chuunin and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Iruka, I'll do everything in my power to make sure Naruto gets through this."
Said chuunin looked up to her with unshed tears in his eyes, his heart hurting from the thought that he could possibly lose the boy he had come to view as a son. "Hai, Hokage-sama…Arigato…" He said before taking a seat on one of the chairs outside of the treatment room Naruto was now in.
The Godaime took a deep breath to calm herself before walking into the exam room. They already had the blond intubated and were working furiously to stabilize his blood pressure.
"Tsunade-sama." Shizune turned to her and moved to her side as another medic moved to take her place.
"What's his condition?"
"Critical. Shortly after Sasuke-kun brought him in, he started convulsing. He said he didn't know what was in the vial but if he hadn't brought Naruto in, I don't think he would have lasted much longer on his own. The vial that Sasuke had is being analyzed now."
"I believe that Sasuke located our missing vial from the poison stores." She said and began washing her hands, determined to help the teen. "Shizune, please go help with the treatment of the Uchiha and move him to room 4a-b in the intensive care unit. I'll have Naruto brought there after we have them stabilized."
"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Shizune obeyed without question, leaving the room quickly.
"We need to pump his stomach. Have the activated charcoal ready. We're looking at a potential poisoning by Tetrodotoxin. All we can do is give him supportive treatment and hope that Kyuubi can keep him alive until the poison has been removed from his system."
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Chapter notes: I really want to thank my only two reviewers, RamenFox and KyuubixNarutoRULES. Thank you for your kind words and support of my fic. For everyone else who is reading, please don't forget to review! I'll be posting the next chapter in one week...but I can be persuaded to post earlier -Winks-