A/N: This is a follow-up piece for 'Blind', and to understand this, you should probably go to read it, but you should, 'because it's one of my best works. I'm proud of it.
Summary: Sequel to BLIND. When I woke up, you were still waiting for me. I just knew that. You would never leave me. But… I'm different. There are two of us now. And one of us doesn't know anymore. [NaruSasu
Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. How come? Well, Kishimoto stole the original 'Naruto' series from me, and now I'm stuck with fan fiction. This is what I would say if Kishimoto decided to sue me for taking credit for the 'Naruto' series.
Pairings: NaruSasu.
Warnings: Angst, language, schizophrenia, illusion disorders.
Notice: Read excruciatingly SLOWLY. Just a piece of advice. You will get lost otherwise.
When I woke up, you were still waiting for me. I just knew that. You would never leave me. But… I'm different.
When I'm alone with my thoughts, I think a lot. There are two worlds existing for us all. The one we create for ourselves, and the one that is real.
I'm Sasuke. I'm just Sasuke.
Would you want me anyway? You love me no matter what, at whatever cost.
Would you have stayed if you had known who I was? You would have stayed despite whoever I was.
I know you loved who I was, but can you love who I am? You love me for everything I am, have been and will be.
Will you ask me to change? I know you'll never ask me to change.
There is only one world. And that's the real one we force to bend according to our will.
I'm Sasuke, too. Only better, thanks to my insight of things. I see things he can't see because of a gift I got recently. He's a filthy murderer.
Would you want me anyway? No, you'd throw me away like you should.
Would you have stayed if you had known who I was? No, you would have cried over the lover you had lost.
I know you loved who I was, but can you love who I am? You could never love who I am, because you hope there's something of the lost left and cannot let go.
Will you ask me to change? I guess both of us agree on this one. You would never ask me to change. You would just walk away.
Sasuke opened his eyes.
His obsidian, normal eyes. They clipped once, twice, thrice. This was not the cave. This was a room inside the Konoha Hospital. He tried to sit up. Nothing. Nothing at all. His muscles wouldn't move. He blinked. Actually, it felt like he didn't have a body at all. Yet he still felt heavy, chained down to something while his conscious floated upwards.
He stared up at the roof above him. It was white and completely spotless. Not a speckle of dirt was there on that plain surface.
Strangely enough, it calmed him. He felt connected to the relaxing aura. Because of the connection, he felt cleansed and pure. The Mangekyo was sleeping for now, and Sasuke would never disturb that piece of himself again. That part of him would never surface again. Ever.
Sasuke tried to turn his head. No luck there either. Damnit, was he paralyzed or some shit like that?
He couldn't remember anything after the time he lost consciousness in the cave.
Maybe the memories were stored on some level of his mind.
He started to activate his normal Sharingan with the three harmonically placed dots in it. Immediately three people appeared next to his bed, stared intently and then one of them, a male, started shouting out orders. Sasuke could hear the words, but they were like a different language to his ears.
"He's awake for real this time! Get Tsunade-sama!"
"Hai!"
The men disappeared again.
They had been in the room less than ten seconds.
When they had noticed he was awake, they had ran away.
Were they scared of him?
Of course they are. You're filthy and disgusting. Filthy murderer.
We're not!
You want to hurt them, don't you? You filthy murderer.
Why would Sasuke want to hurt them? He hadn't even had the time to see them. They were nobody's to him. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
You admit they're nothing? Then they might as well not exist to you. And that is what death entails, Sasuke. You are wishing they were dead. You filthy murderer.
He tried to filter out the voice in his head, but found he couldn't. It felt just as if someone was crouching next to his bed and talking into his ear. A hard sound of wood hitting wood, and someone rushing into the room. A head came into his minimum view, and realized those blond locks of hair and that gem on her forehead must belong to Tsunade.
"Uchiha, can you hear me? Make some form of movement or sound if you can hear me." she ordered harshly.
What was she saying? He couldn't understand. He blinked in confusion, and she seemed satisfied with that.
"I'm going to restart your body temporarily, okay? I will insert this gel into your DNA that will force your muscles to grow to a size that will allow you to move. If you already can move because of some fucked up miracle, please be still."
Sasuke blinked angrily. He was not some fucked up freak!
Yes, Sasuke, you are fucked up and abnormal and disturbing and repulsing in that way. You want people you have never even seen before to die. Isn't that a little paranormal? I would even have to say it's cross the borders of paranormal. Some might even call it 'crazy' or 'insane'. If you're insane, aren't you on some level 'fucked up'? I am not wrong, and you know this. Filthy murderer.
But… No. No! He wasn't some kind of –
Yes, you are. Filthy murderer, that is.
He felt the presence of large hands moving centimeters above his body, and his skin felt too big. She was doing something to his nerve system!
"Tsunade! Is he really – ?"
A pink head stared down on him. And something wet landed on his cheek and nose. Tears. Or water. Tears were just water after all. Only water which would soon vaporize into air which was invisible and of no importance.
Two green orbs stared into his own black ones, and he could see pink lips slide into the happiest grin he had seen in a long time.
"He's awake! He's actually awake! You're awake! Oh my God, Sasuke. You're awake! You're really awake! You're awake, and it's for real and you're awake!" she screamed in happiness and relief.
Okay. It would seem like he had been in this bed for quite a while. Had he fallen into a coma?
Yes you did. You shouldn't have, though. You should have died, you filthy murderer.
Sasuke whimpered. What was that? Who was that? What was that voice?!
Not that's it's of any importance to you, but I'm not someone you will get rid of. I'll stay till I get what I want. Your death. You filthy murderer. You must die.
Sakura softly caressed his cheek, thinking he whimpered out of pain.
"She's done soon. You'll be able to walk in a minute now."
Sasuke tried to move his head. It worked.
It rolled to the left and hit the pillow. He could see the rest of the room. The wall was white, and two meters away a brown chair stood. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat and he exhaled a raspy breath. In the chair, Naruto sat.
He just sat there, staring straight at him. He was wearing his usual horrid orange atrocity which seemed to be in a perfect condition. The slim arms rested on the armrests and his legs were crossed. His golden locks were adorning his beautiful god-like features and the tan face shone. The blue orbs of joy whirled up emotions inside him that made Sasuke want to throw himself at the younger man. The mouth smiled cockily at him, silently asking 'Well, you could have woken up a little bit earlier, bastard'.
Sasuke sat up and was immediately pushed down by his former female teammate.
"Be still! Your legs aren't finished yet!"
He couldn't be still! Naruto was sitting right there. He had to be there!
He pushed himself up again and as predicted Sakura put her elbow hard on his chest and pressed down roughly, forcing him down again. Fucking woman! She should just let him do what the fuck he wants!
And now you want the woman who loved you unconditionally to die. How surprising, you filthy murderer.
No, he didn't want her dead! He didn't care about her! He wanted Naruto.
Are we still on that? You are disgusting. She means nothing to you; therefore she could stop existing, thus she could die. Filthy murderer.
"Your legs are fixed now, Sasuke-kun."
On less that a second he was out of the bed and he tumbled towards the chair. Naruto didn't even twitch.
When he was half a meter away, Sasuke realized he no longer had his ninja reflexes and he tripped over his own eager feet. He flew through the air for a split second, and then landed hard onto a wooden surface. Strangely enough only his knees and palms had hit the floor. That meant he hadn't hit the floor.
He picked himself up and stared.
He had hit the chair's flat area.
He was sure of it.
But Naruto was still sitting there!
He couldn't have, because if that was the case he would have landed on Naruto's kneecap.
No, filthy murderer. He's doesn't want you to touch him. After all, you did betray him and tried to kill him numerous times. He hates you, Sasuke.
"But…" he mumbled into his fists. "I did…"
"Your body won't comply with complicated orders yet, Sasuke-kun. I'm going to take you to the place where you will rebuild your muscles. Your physical state is identical with an academy student right now." Sakura smiled at him and grabbed with by the elbows, pulling him up.
"No, but, no, I, no, he's, I'll –"
"Sweetie, this way. You don't have to be nervous."
"I, I, I, I, I – " Sasuke bit himself in the tongue. He didn't normally stutter like this! Neither was he born with some speech malfunction. Then why….
"It's just across the street in another building. It's freezing outside, but we'll only be out there in a second, so you won't get cold, okay?"
She slung his arm around her shoulders to help him walk and took a few testing steps towards the door. Cold? What did she mean cold?
His eyes darted towards the large window behind him. It was snowing. Wait a second. When he met Itachi in the cave, it had been summer. Had he been gone that long? He seeped the scenery in. The entire city was covered in a thick blanket of white. Sasuke admired it. It was beautiful.
Too bad you abandoned it, huh, filthy murderer?
Sasuke winced. There had to be someone outside trying to drive him insane during this sick jutsu which would allow their voice to flow into his head. There was no other explanation.
They walked out of the room and Naruto rose from his chair and silently followed them.
"Naruto…?" Sasuke said confusedly, twisting his neck around to see the blonde walking behind them, hands stuck into his pockets and grinning at him.
Sakura came to an abrupt halt and swallowed hard, blinking furiously.
Then she just continued walking, almost dragging Sasuke along.
What was up with her? Naruto was right behind them! Wasn't he allowed to talk to him or what? Was Sakura mad at Naruto for being such a dobe, which he always was? Didn't she want him to talk to Naruto? What was wrong with her?!
He tried to turn and touch Naruto but found the muscles in his legs could not withstand his own bodyweight and collapsed on the floor. So he really was that weak right now, then.
Well, what did you expect? That you would be forever strong once you met him again? Get real. Filthy murderers are the bad guys in stories, and they always die in the end. Why not speed up the process?
Why don't you die?
"Naruto! You have to leave this room sometime. We can't keep doing this."
"Stop bringing me food then. I haven't asked you to do anything for me."
"You have not left this room for a month! If there wasn't a bathroom in here, you'd be in deep shit with your stubborn way of thinking."
"I'm going to be here when he wakes up, Sakura. There's just nothing else, okay? He's not going to wake up alone."
"He will be alone if you die in here!"
Silence.
"Naruto, I care about you more than anything in the world. it hurts me to see you like this. I so badly want you to be happy again, and if you're in this room, you never will be."
"SHUT UP! You don't know anything!"
"I know that you can't stop thinking about him in here, and that train of thought is often sorrowful. I care about Sasuke-kun too, but this place will never be good for you until he wakes up. I beg you, Naruto. Please think about what you're doing."
"I'm being with him! He wouldn't want to be alone!"
"He wouldn't want you to be this either, Naruto."
Sakura sighed and crouched down in front of the chair Naruto sat in.
It hurt her to see him like this.
He was always staring at Sasuke with something far away in his eyes, and he never smiled anymore. She wanted Sasuke to wake up, too, but… She wanted Naruto to stop this even more.
Naruto didn't answer, but his stony face softened somewhat, answering her that he knew she was right.
"So, want to go on a make up mission with me? If you do it good, I'll treat you ramen?"
Naruto hesitated.
Then smiled.
"Yeah. Ramen would be great." he cast her a sour glare. "You know I want ramen, so why did you insist on coming with all these other foods here?"
She chuckled. "Because ramen isn't good for you. Now come on."
She forcefully ripped him from the chair and dragged him out.
"Hey! Careful or I might change my mind!"
"You won't change your mind!"
"Oh yeah+" Naruto said slyly. "How do you know?"
"I can tell how much you want ramen right now. It's rolling off you in waves, darling."
Naruto crossed his arms, putting on a fake grumpy face. "Well, arr, it seems I have met my destiny."
"Don't go Hyuuga on me now. That'd be a bother!"
"What's wrong with Neji?"
"Oh, there's nothing wrong with him. I just want to kill him so that I can have his luscious hair."
"I have luscious hair! Kill me!"
She laughed. "Your hair is nowhere near as pretty as Neji's!"
Naruto stumbled to his feet and pried her hands off him. "But I'm much manlier than Neji, so there! Ha!"
"Good for you!"
"Are you mocking me?"
"No, of course not. What lead you to believe that? It's totally preposterous to even think that I would –"
"ARE YOU MOCKING ME?"
She grinned. It was almost as if Naruto was happy again. The only thing missing now was Sasuke standing in the background, sighing at Naruto's ridiculous behavior.
"Sakura." Sasuke said forcefully, ripping his arm back. "Why aren't we waiting for Naruto?"
She swallowed a sob and grabbed his arm. "Can we just walk, Sasuke? It's cold outside; I don't want you to get sick."
"SAKURA!" he yelled, and the whole street turned to look at them. He couldn't care less if they stared.
There you go again, you filthy murderer. You want the entire street filled with people to die. No wonder she doesn't want to be outside. She doesn't want to be seen with a traitor like you. She doesn't care if you're sick or even alive. She's acting on the Hokage's orders, and that is the only reason she is putting up with your existence.
"Why don't you want to talk Naruto? Did you guys have a fight or what?"
His eyes darted between his two former teammates.
"Sasuke, please, you'll get sick. If you would just take a few more steps, and you'll be inside."
The pink haired kunoichi was crying. Large drops of tears (water, it's only water) rolled down her flushed cheeks.
"Come on, let's go inside."
"Why won't you answer me?!" he yelled at her in rage and turned to Naruto and screamed into his face; "What is going on?!"
Sakura wiped her tears away and roughly grabbed him hard enough to bruise and forcefully dragged him into the rehab building. Sasuke fumed but realized there was nothing he could do about the female. Sakura wasn't going to talk, apparently, and she was right now incredibly much stronger than him.
He turned to Naruto as much as he could in his former teammate's steely grip.
"Answer me you loser!"
Naruto just kept smiling at him and Sakura strode on towards the stairs.
"Answer me, damnit!"
Here lies Naruto, who loved us all and received the world in return.
Sakura dropped a white flower next to the picture of a grinning Naruto who was motioning for whoever the camera man was to follow him.
This was so unreal.
Naruto wasn't dead.
He couldn't be.
That loud blabbermouth who always told her he would not stop until he became his dream?
She had believed him, damnit!
She had trusted him!
A creeping dark emotion slithered their way up her legs, into he chest and heart. She had dragged Naruto out on that mission. It had been a BC rank, and she just thought it would be something fun.
It wasn't so funny when the Akatsuki got a hold of him.
And there hadn't been anything she could have done to stop it.
She sniffed. Naruto had managed to get away from them. He was so strong.
But when she had felt something warm rush down her back when hugging him, she realized he wasn't the God she though he was. He had emptied a liter of blood on her back in 0.4 seconds.
Sasuke stared en awe as Naruto followed them.
The raven had been brought into the room his basic muscle rebuilding would be.
And Naruto had followed them.
Walking straight through a wall.
Sasuke blinked hard twice.
No, Naruto was still standing there, hands still loosely tucked into his pockets
There must have been something wrong with his sight.
A/N: I wrote this in one day and I'm very proud, actually. I think it's nice, and I love writing different disorders, e.g. paranoia, schizophrenia, obsessions, paranormal attachments, and so forth. What did you think of this? Something you loved/hated? Something I need to fix? Review and tell me!