Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Thanks for the support, especially with my writer's block. It's starting to clear up a little bit. As you can tell, it's been a little frustrating having the time and the events already outlined, but not the ability to sit down and write out the chapters. I'm hoping the spell with pass soon. I blessed my home with sage today and have been passing the time with other activities (i.e. gardening, reading, and doing a playthrough of Final Fantasy X) to pass the time. The last few days have been rainy here, which has helped with realigning my chakras, so let's see if that helps any. However, since today is Lady Tsunade's birthday (one of my favorite female characters), I wanted to post a chapter to honor her. I just hope you guys like this one too.
Also, if anyone is interested, I have been reading this book that my therapist recommended to me. I just started it, but it is remarkably interesting and has opened both my eyes and mind to various aspects of the mind. It's called The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. It's about how devastating the effects of trauma can have on the body and mind and the people around those suffering from the trauma too.
I have suffered a lot of trauma in my life and have only been in true recovery for about three years, but I have always been interested in how the human mind works. I am also looking to, hopefully, publish my own book someday. I will advise that this book comes with its own triggers (i.e. mentions of rape, molestation, prostitution, war, PTSD, murder, etc.). PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
As I read this book, some of my own trauma would be triggered and I must force myself to put the book down. If you do decide to read the book, please do not force yourself past your limit or take all of it in one go if you cannot handle it. It is a tough book for people who have experienced trauma and are in the healing stages. If you think you can handle it, great! If not, then don't read it, or please read with caution. If you haven't had trauma or just interested in a good book, then I would highly recommend it. IT IS NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK! I wanted to make that clear in case anyone thought I was trying to sell you on anything. It's super cheap too. I think like $11-12 for paperback and Kindle edition.
If you decide to get the book, tell me what you think. Or, if you have a book you'd like to recommend, please send it my way! I'm always looking to chat about book recommendations!
Reviewer Shoutout: I-Love-Trucks1, Jnaruko, and The Unapologetic!
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Chapter 59: Surprise Guest
Normal P.O.V.
Morning rays peak through bright orange curtains and onto two sleeping figures as it continues to rise over the horizon. An alarm sounds off in the otherwise silent room, letting the two figures know it's time to start the day. From under the covers, a sluggish, tired pale hand shoots out to silence the noisy thing as its owner rolls over. Pale eyelids slowly peek open to read the red numbers on the clock only to have them suddenly fade.
"What the~" Sasuke sits up to rub his tired eyes but it doesn't help. In fact, it makes it worse, "Shit,"
"S'uke, come back to bed," a groggy Naruto groans as he reaches for his mate.
"Go back to sleep, dobe," Sasuke says, pushing his pillow towards the blond.
As the blond fox snuggles more into the pillow and turns over, scratching his balls and dick in the process, Sasuke tries to navigate his way towards the bathroom. This is the second time since the other day he's woken with his vision failing him. However, this time, his vision is almost completely dark. Unusually, Sasuke can at least make out shapes or blobs of color, enough to make it around their apartment without hugging the wall, but this time, he is almost completely blind.
Using his memory and hands, the raven feline successfully makes his way to the bathroom and manages to open the medicine cabinet. He feels around for the medicine bottle until he finds it. He manages to get it open, but when he tries to dump the medicine onto his hand nothing comes out.
"No, no, no, no, no! Fuck!" he screams as he throws the bottle.
The bottle bounces off the sink and hits him in the mouth. He hisses at the slight pain as he stumbles back. His foot slips on a towel laying on the ground. He tries to grab the towel rack for support but misses and ends up falling to the ground on his side and landing on the bathroom scale.
"Fuck me,"
"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you alright?!" Naruto calls out as he pushes the door open and slams it into Sasuke's legs.
"Naruto!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Naruto apologizes as he sidesteps into the bathroom and helps Sasuke sit up, "What happened in here? Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I fell after I threw my medicine bottle," Sasuke answers with his eyes close and a hand holding his head.
"Where is your medicine bottle?"
"I don't know. It landed somewhere,"
Naruto looks around until he finds the bottle; it rolled behind the toilet. He grabbed the bottle and holds it in his hand, "It's empty. Is that why you threw it?" Sasuke nods, "Can you get some more?"
"Yeah. I had Karin make that batch after came to the village. That's when my vision started to fade a little bit,"
"How did she make it?" Naruto asks.
"Remember when I told you that it's the curse of all Sharingan users? Well, in the scrolls that I saved, there are temporary remedies to help delay the blindness that overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan will cause,"
"So, no matter what you do, you'll eventually go blind from using it?"
"Unless I find a cure, yes,"
"Open your eyes for me, Sasuke," Hesitantly, Sasuke opens his eyes to revile gray irises staring back at him, causing him to sigh, "And it looks like sooner than later. Can you see me?"
"Usually I can make out colors, blobs, shapes… but not this time. This time I can't see anything,"
"Right. Alright, come on. Up we go," Naruto says as he pulls Sasuke up and sits him on the toilet.
"What are you doing?"
"Well first, I'm going to get you cleaned up. Then we're going to see Granny Tsunade. We're going to find a cure for you, no matter how long it takes,"
"But~"
"I'm not arguing with you Sasuke. There are a lot of things I will let you handle on your own, but your health is not one of them. You are not good to me or anyone blind. So, don't fight me on this, and just let me take care of you for once, alright?"
Sasuke doesn't say anything as he lowers his head. He hears Naruto walk out of the bathroom as he remains on the toilet seat. The rest of the morning goes by quickly with Naruto helping him get ready and caring for him. Sasuke makes sure that Naruto grabs his clan's scrolls before they head out. The only main argument was about Sasuke riding on Naruto's back, but eventually, Sasuke gave in and allowed Naruto to carry him piggyback to meet Lady Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura, and Karin at the hospital.
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"I've never seen anything like this," Sakura says while observing Sasuke's blank eyes.
"It is a common occurrence among advanced Sharingan users. Not every Uchiha had the ability to activate the Sharingan, but the ones who did were susceptible to going blind at one point in their lives depending on how much they used it," Lady Tsunade explains while reading over the scrolls.
"What if they didn't use it?" Sakura asks.
"It was unheard of. If you were an Uchiha and had the Sharingan, then you were a shinobi, plan a simple. You were guaranteed to use it and most likely to overuse it. That is why they created medicines to delay the damage done caused by the Sharingan. However, it also depended on the level of Sharingan that the user awakened. The weaker the level, the lesser the damage," Lady Tsunade further explains.
"Karin, you were able to duplicate the medicine in the Uchiha clan scrolls? That was quite the medical feat," Shizune complimented.
"Thank you," the red-haired fox blushes.
"What baffles me is that your clan never found a cure for this illness. I mean, you all knew for centuries what your bloodline is capable of, but have yet to find a cure for it?" Tsunade says more to herself than to Sasuke.
"It's probably because we didn't want anyone else to find it. There were more scrolls at my family's manor, but they're lost now because of Pain's attack. Only Obito, Madara, and I are left of my clan, and obviously, I don't know nearly as much as they do. Looks like whatever knowledge that was lost in that attack may die with them," Sasuke sighs.
"Granny Tsunade, isn't there anything you can do to help him? Can't you come up with some pill or eye drops for him to take so he can see? At least for right now?"
"It's not that simple, kid. From the tests we ran, Sasuke managed to damage his eyes to an irreversible state. Even if I created some eyedrops or pills for him to take, it won't help him in his current condition,"
"Hmph. And I thought you were a Medical Sannin," Naruto grumbles with his arms crossing.
"I am, but I ain't no miracle worker. I'm sorry Sasuke,"
"It's alright… I always knew this day was coming…" Sasuke sighs as he leans back into his hospital bed.
Sakura moves to comfort her friend, but he turns away from her, "I'm going for some fresh air,"
Her white bunny ears droop in sadness as she watches his retreating back.
A manicured hand firmly grips her left shoulder, "Give him some time. He's just frustrated," she nods with a sigh.
She feels so useless when she can't do anything to help her comrades. After all the training she has done, she is still nowhere near her other two counterparts.
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Outside the village, a frustrated blond sits on a bench with his hands in his hair and his gaze to the sky.
"How ironic is this? The one time I ask him to let me take care of him and I can't even do it? What even am I?"
"Other than for complaining? I'd say none,"
"Oh great. And now you have jokes?"
"Well, I haven't bothered you in a while, so I figured I'd drop in and how's it going,'
"Terrible. Now go away,"
"Yes, yes, I see. Soooooo, nothing new?"
"Go away,"
"Alright, alright. Let's be serious. What's really going on?"
"Well my mate's going, or is blind, fuck I don't know. And I can't fix it,"
"Why is everything so complicated with you two? Why can't it ever just be pregnancy scares or you having intimacy problems or some normal shit? Why is it always some supernatural crap with you? You know they don't make parenting books for shit like this? I should know, I've read them,"
"Ya done?"
"Hold on, let me check… Yes. Now, onto your problems. Why can't Sasuke just get some new eyes?"
"Now you're not making sense. Look if you're not going to take this serious~"
"Ugh, just shut and listen for two seconds brat. Do you remember your fight with Danzo? Do you remember that old fucker was covered in Uchiha's eyes?"
Naruto digs back into his memory for the details with the fight with Danzo, "Yeah,"
"Do you remember how he got them?"
"Yeah, he said he stole them from all the Uchiha that Itachi killed,"
"So why don't you go dig up his body and just take one of those eyes and transplant them into Sasuke?"
"Are you sure that'll work?"
"Kit listen, I've been alive longer than you can imagine. So, I know a few things about those Uchiha bastards. One of the things I do know is that they used to transport each other's eyes to each other all the time. I don't know why they did it, but I do know that they did. It's at least a start and might by you some time and give Sasuke his vision back for the time being,'
"Yeah! That could work! Except for one thing. After Sasuke killed Danzo, he and I fought, so I don't know when Danzo's body is buried! Shittttttttttttttttt!"
"You fuckhead! Got you're such a screwup,"
"Hey! Who are you calling a~"
"Careful, we've got company,"
Naruto readies himself with his hand on his toolkit and his Sage Mode activated, "Ah, I see you sensed me. Good to see your senses have grown sharper,"
The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stand up as the figure is squatting low on the branch in the tree above him. Trying not to draw suspicion, Naruto keeps his voice and his eyes low,
"What are you doing here? How did you get past the guards?"
"Wasn't that hard really. A genjutsu to mask my appearance and scent is nothing to two simple guards. Do you remember me?"
"You're Tobi, right? You came to visit me in the Land of Iron that night at the Kage Meeting,"
"I'm so happy to see you remembered me. Are we friends now?" Tobi laughs.
"Cut the shit and tell me why you're here before I kill you,"
"Woah, someone's feisty today. What's the matter? Someone's kitty not feeling well?" Naruto's voice hitches, causing Tobi to chuckle, "Oh I seem to hit the nail on the head. Poor little Sasuke sitting in that hospital bed, blind as a bat from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan. It was only a matter of time before he succumbed to that terrible curse of his clan's bloodline,"
"How do you know about that? Are you spying on us? Planning on using it against us in the war?" Naruto growls through gritted teeth.
"Quite the opposite, my foxy friend. I actually came to help him,"
"Stop trying to play head games with me,"
"I'm not. Look, you're making it harder than it has to be. I told that boy that he would eventually go blind if he overuses his Mangekyō Sharingan, but you know how stubborn the bastard can be. But it's not going to be as fun or fair if the boy can't see or fight in the war, so I want to help you guys,"
"I feel like… this is… a trap…"
"Why, because I'm on the opposite side of the war?"
"Yes?"
"Oh well… Shut up. Just bring him and that doctor lady to the Mountains' Graveyard in a couple of days and I'll meet you there,"
"How do you plan to help Sasuke?" Naruto asks.
"Simple, I'm going to give him a new pair of eyes,"
"How are you going to do that? The only Uchihas left are Obito and Madara and I'm pretty sure they're using them. Unless you know where Danzo's corpse is,"
"Don't you worry your pretty, blond, fox head about that. Let me take care of everything and just make sure you're there in a few days or else you'll miss this one chance to help Sasuke, got it?" Naruto nods, "Alright then, I'm off. See ya, alligator,"
"Wait a minute,"
"Oh, you were supposed to say, "after a while, crocodile," Tobi pouts.
"Why… do you want to help us so badly? I mean, you're apart of their team, right? Shouldn't you, I don't know, want to do everything to make sure they win instead of even the playing field?"
"Let's just say, I won't make it out alive after this. And let's just say that, once upon a time, I used to be like you: wanting peace, dreaming big dreams, having friends and a family, falling in love. But now… now my future is bleak. Maybe, deep down inside I still want a world full of peace and love, but that world doesn't involve me. Maybe… I'm looking for someone else to build it for me… Or maybe those are just ramblings of a hopeless romantic," Even though Naruto never turns to see Tobi's face, he can feel the sadness radiating off the male feline before he disappears, "See ya, kid,"
Naruto remains on the bench for a while before finally leaving and heading back towards the hospital. Anyone else would have said that the enemy invading their territory and giving them helpful information, especially at the request of the Hokage's presence, is most likely a deadly trap. But there was something about those parting words that made Naruto think that they would be something he would say to someone younger if he were a lost soul.
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When Naruto enters the room, he's met with gloomy stares of the female medical nins.
Sakura is the first to walk up to him with a sympathetic smile, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright, why?"
"You left in such a hurry. I wanted to make sure you were alright,"
"Forget me. I care more about Sasuke. Have you guys discovered anything?"
"No. But, I already told you that there was nothing that we could do, brat," Tsunade sighs as she leans against a window.
Naruto clenches his fists as he turns his head to the side. The conversation with Tobi plays in his head. With that being their only result, it seems they don't have any other option.
"Why did you meet?" Sasuke suddenly asks.
"Huh?"
"You know I don't like repeating myself. Who did you meet?"
"N-no one,"
"Don't play dumb, dobe. I can smell a stranger on you. Now, who did you meet," Sasuke growls as his tail twitches and his ears fold backward.
The room thickens as the girls wait for Naruto's reply, "A friend…"
"A friend? Hn. So, why haven't I met this friend before?"
"Why are you interrogating me like I'm a prisoner? I have friends you don't know about," Naruto glares with his arms crossing.
"You're a shitty liar," Sasuke continues to growl.
"Naruto, why don't you just tell the truth. You're upsetting Sasuke-kun," Karin says.
"Fine," Naruto sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair, "I met someone on the outskirts of the village… who might have a way to help Sasuke…"
"That's great! But why would you hide that from us?" Shizune asks.
"Because… he's on Madara and Obito's side… and he wants us to meet him at the Mountains' Graveyard in a few days if we want to help Sasuke…"
"What?!" everyone gaps.
"You mean one of the enemies snuck into our village and you didn't do anything about it?! Why I ought to~"
"I know! I know I should have killed him right then and there, but… he offered to help Sasuke and I couldn't pass it up because he wasn't wrong the first time I met him…" Naruto explains, interrupting Tsunade.
"The first time? When was the first time you met him?" Sakura asks.
"At the Kage Meeting in the Land of Iron. He came into my hotel room. He was the one who told me about Sasuke and his team coming there. He's given me useful information in the past, so I don't think he's lying but I know he's not on our side,"
"So, you're saying he's a reliable source of information, but you don't consider him an ally? Naruto, you're not making any sense," Sakura says.
"I know I'm not. It's all confusing, but I honestly believe he wants to help Sasuke,"
"Do you know who it could be, Sasuke-kun?" Karin asks.
"I don't know. The only two people I can think of are Obito and Madara, and I don't think either of them is eager to help me right now,"
"This all seems fishy to me. So, all they said was for you to bring Sasuke and us to the Mountain's Graveyard in a few days? What's there?" Tsunade questions.
"I… don't know… He just says to come there or else we'll miss our chance to help Sasuke," Naruto lies.
"Hn. Well, Naruto, as Hokage-in-Training, it's your call, what would you do?" Tsunade asks with a curious look on her face.
Everyone in the room turns their head towards Naruto with the same look, curious to see how their future leader would take the reigns on situations like this. Little did they know that their future leader was no closer to an answer than when he walked into that room.
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To Be Continued…