Naruto 1. Soup

He lay there silently in his hospital bed, staring blankly at the wall. His mind was a blank void. All he could think about was Orochimaru-sama. Where was he? His eyes hardened and his arms strained against the leather shackles that kept him in the bed.

The door opened slowly and he immediately ceased his struggles. He glared at the young female medic that walked in, his mouth set in a grim line. She smiled at him, but it soon faded when she saw the look in his eyes.

"You know…you should try not to think about him so much."

He blinked. How dare she? He huffed softly and turned his face the other way. The medic sighed and set her clipboard on the table next to his bed. She fiddled a bit with her skirt before scanning over him with her eyes.

"How are you feeling today?"

"…"

She bit her lip and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?" she asked, a bit louder this time.

He turned his head slowly to face her. He glared daggers at the annoying woman.

"I'm fine." He bit out quickly. "Now please leave, you are too loud."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed in anger. Her fist clenched at her side until small half moons were imprinted on her palm. She took in a deep breath and left, closing the door none too quietly.

He cringed at the loud noise and sunk back into the bed, thinking of ways to get out of this hell hole.

Tests, tests, and some more damn tests. He was better off dead. Why did they save him anyways? Oh yes, for his kekkei genkai(sp?). He closed his eyes and simmered slightly. He gave the shackles one final frustrated tug before giving up and falling into a dreamless sleep.

--

He woke up that morning with an earsplitting headache. His jaw clenched in agony, but he dared not make a sound. He hated when they tried to fix him. He wanted to die. He licked his lips and waited for the pain to subside.

Three hours past and he was still suffering through the immense pain in his temples. It felt like his brain would explode. His vision was splotchy and his breathing erratic. He started to sweat and found it much harder to contain the small whimpers of pain from escaping his pale lips. He opened his mouth in a silent cry but soon found in his misery that a strangled scream escaped instead.

Immediately the door flew open and the annoying medic came to his side, checking his pulse and feeling his forehead. "Stupid man." She muttered softly to herself. He would have glared at her again but he was much too tired and he welcomed the calm darkness.

Such cold hands. They felt good on his hot face. He almost purred and nuzzled the hand. His head shifted slightly and the pain shot up through his spine and into his head. He groaned and tried to curl up into a small ball. He screamed at the damnable cuffs that held him in place. A small chuckle brought him from his small trance. Who the hell was laughing? Was his pain…funny? He looked up into the medic's eyes and felt the sudden urge to spit in her face.

"Don't give me that look. You have no one to blame but yourself."

He gave her an incredulous look, his mouth hanging slightly open in question.

She winked and gave him a smug grin before turning and walking towards the door.

"Scream if you need me."

He growled and spit at her, but she had already closed the door behind her. He could hear her joyous laughter as she walked down the hall. Damn woman! She would be the first one to die when he escaped!

He slammed his head down into the pillow and thought of all the ways he could prolong her suffering before he killed her. He fell asleep that way and for some reason, when he thought about something other than his master, the pain in his head was gone.

--

The throbbing pain in his head had gone down and he had enough strength to flop over onto his side. He stared at the door, awaiting the young medic's arrival. He was hungry. His stomach growled in agreement and his eyes narrowed to slits as he heard familiar footsteps near the room.

The door opened to reveal the young medic in all her damn glory. A large smile was plastered onto her creamy face and her eyes were dancing with amusement. In her hands was a tray of soup.

His spirits dropped and his appetite slowly retreated.

"I don't want that shit." He said as she neared.

She scrunched up her nose and replied tersely. "Please do not use such foul language. You never know who could be walking by."

He rolled his eyes and tried to roll the other way. He felt a small hand grip his shoulder and flip him back the other way. He made a small sound in his throat and opened his mouth to let a string of curse words fly but a spoon was shoved into his mouth.

He almost gagged on the unexpected intruder. His blood boiled and he tugged at the restraints fiercely.

The woman tsked and shook her head, taking out the spoon.

"It's no use. The restraints are laced with Hokage-sama's chakra. There's no point in struggling." She filled the spoon with more soup and looked at him.

The anger behind his eyes faded and he nodded. She smiled at him and brought the spoon closer. He opened and she, this time, gently placed the spoon inside so he didn't choke. She had never fed him before, but ever since his strange fever, the others had decided that it was necessary for him to be fed. He noticed her strange gentleness and precision and his eyes rolled up to look at her face.

She was staring intently at the spoon, watching to see if any of the soup had spilled out onto his chin. A small dribble fell and she quickly shot out a hand to wipe it off. She unconsciously stuck the fingers in her mouth. She immediately spit out.

"Shit!"

His eyes widened and he arched a delicate eyebrow.

She gave him a sympathetic look, and then cast a shifty glance at the soup.

"I know I may be mean…but that soup is the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted."

She stood and picked up the bowl. "Excuse me while I go find a more suitable meal for you." She turned and left.

He stared at where she had just stood. Was she…being nice to him? After everything he had done?

He blinked in confusion. His head perked up as he heard her whistling close by.

Food. His stomach gave another angry growl. He glared at it.

The door opened to reveal the young woman. She had a medium sized brown box in her hand. He noticed that her name was scribbled messily on the cover.

Must have been her lunch. He looked from her to the box, and back to her. She laughed quietly and sat down in the chair, opening the box up. Inside were two nicely wrapped spam musubi accompanied by a small plastic bowl of udon soup. She began to unwrap one of the musubi and brought it to her lips.

His jaw almost hit the floor. Was she going to eat her food in front of him?? He felt anger stirring in his stomach. Stupid, stupi—

She smiled after taking a bite then grabbed the other musubi and held it out in front of his mouth. She tilted her head as she sensed his anger.

"Oh come on. You don't seriously think I'm that much of an evil witch?" she chuckled. "I tasted it to make sure it was good…"

She grinned and wiggled the food in front of his face. His anger faded just as quickly as it had arrived, replaced by his monstrous hunger. He leaned forward and took a large bite. He almost swooned it tasted so good. He chewed greedily on it before leaning forward for another bite. After he had finished with the musubi he stared at the other hungrily.

The medic looked at him and suddenly felt quite bad. He had been there for about a month now and had to suffer through that horrible tasting soup. She picked up the other musubi and held it out to him.

He stared at it for a while. He was about to eat it when he realized something. It was hers. He stopped and looked at her.

"Isn't…?"

She shook her head and smiled. "It's fine, please eat it. I can always go home and make more."

He looked at the musubi again and growled, moving his head to the side. She looked at him, clearly shocked. She blinked a couple of times.

"But I'm not hungry. Eat it…I insist." As if on cue, her stomach gave a rumble and she almost blushed.

He gave her a triumphant glare before moving his head away from the delicious smelling food. She pouted and tossed it back into the box.

"Well if you're not going to eat it, then neither am I." She picked up the box and set it down on the bed. She bent over to lengthen the chakra strings and stood.

"I'll leave the rest here on the bed just in case you change your mind." She bowed and left the room.

He stared at the food for almost ten minutes trying to decide whether or not to eat it. He growled in frustration and pushed the box away. Wait…what? He could move now? Oh…yes, the medic had given him more room to move around. He sighed.

--

A couple hours later the medic opened the door slowly. She peeked in to see that he had fallen asleep. She stepped in and tip-toed to the bed and looked down into the box. The bowl of soup had been emptied and there were no remnants of the last musubi. She smiled inwardly and picked up the box. She stared at him for a minute before exiting the room. He looked so peaceful in his sleep.


	2. Bone

He shifted slightly in his sleep, his closed eyes rolling about in their sockets. He awoke with a start. He couldn't move. He was encased in dirt. It filled his lungs and his mouth as he opened his mouth to scream.

He choked and wriggled his body around in the dirt. Panic welled up inside of him and his stomach curled inward on itself. His mind was reeling, trying to figure out a scenario to get himself out. He had to escape or he'd die.

He froze as an eerie peel of laughter swam past him.

_Orochimaru-sama?_

Yes, it was him! He recognized that voice. Relief flooded his body and he struggled on in hopes that he would be found. The laughter slowly became softer and softer. He panicked. The laughter was heard no more.

_Orochimaru-sama!_

He gave one final push of great strength and he found himself staring up at a white ceiling.

"Orochimaru-sama!" He cried out, bones slipping in and out from his skin using chakra that had come up from nowhere. They cut at his own skin, blood now running down his arms and legs, staining the white sheets. His eyes rolled back into his head and his body was thrown into a fit of convulsions.

The door swung open and the medic rushed over to his side, her mouth agape. She reached out for him but a long bone protruding from his right shoulder came down to make a clean cut down her front. The medic apron fell to the floor, small droplets of blood blossoming on it.

She reached out once more for him, her hands glowing green. She completely disregarded the wound she had and focused on his instead. Using some of her inhuman strength she managed to hold him down with one hand and placed another over his clammy forehead. She let her chakra invade his brain and slowly lull him into a deep slumber. His flailing arms fell limp to the bed and his head bobbed once or twice before laying still.

The medic sighed heavily, wiping her forehead of sweat. She gazed down at him and noticed the twisted grimace on his face. She placed a finger between his eyes and relaxed the muscles in his face. He looked peaceful once more. Well, almost. She eyed the bones that stuck out from his limbs with increasing curiosity. She reached a tentative hand out to touch one and found it to be quite warm. She blinked and ran her hand along the side of it. Her jade eyes were wide in fascination.

She closed her eyes and placed her hands on his chest, letting her chakra roam freely in his body. She felt a rush of power spiral down her spine as she inspected his body from the inside. Her brows furrowed as she played lightly with his chakra flow. It seemed to be all connected with the bones that stuck out from his body. She took a closer look, unconsciously leaning in closer to the now sleeping man.

What she found was amazing beyond belief. She watched as the red blood cells in the bone marrow multiplied at an insane rate. She also noted how within each cell was chakra. He must have been able to manipulate his very blood cells. She stored all the information in the back of her head, now becoming excited. As a medic, studying new things such as this was thrilling. Her own veins hummed with the new found knowledge. She retracted her chakra from his still form and looked at him with a newfound light.

He was powerful indeed. Being his medic all she thought was that he had been apart of the Sound 5 and was defeated by Gaara, the current Kazekage of Suna. She had no idea what he was capable of. Fear trickled into her mind. What would happen if he managed to rid himself of the chakra restraints and came after her? Would she be strong enough to hold him back down? Doubt now clouded her thoughts and she nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

She blinked, frowning then.

"I think too much…nothing's going to happen and even if it does, I can handle it. I'm strong."

_Right?_

She finished the last sentence in her mind, hurt pooling her green eyes. She reminisced about the Team 7 days. She remembered how instead of focusing on training she had pinned for the affection of the raven haired Uchiha heir. She remembered how Kakashi had treated her differently; how he would give her the easier tasks and would order her to stay behind him when a fight would come up.

Her fist clenched in her lap and her lips formed into a grim line. Her eyes quivered.

She would not cry. She hadn't cried since…since Sasuke had left and she'd be damned if she let something like this get to her. She would be strong just as Sasuke was and as Naruto, the Hokage to be. Her mood dropped even more. She walked over to a small closet in the corner of the room and pulled out a light jacket to cover herself with. She picked up a chair and set it down near the bed and sat down in it, leaning back, tired.

Naruto had left as well to train with Jiraya and here she was, stuck in a small office with an alcoholic, a pig, and a homicidal, bone wielding, white haired, pale man. She laughed humorlessly at how pathetic she felt. She spent her days and nights hovering near the door, waiting for him to make a noise so she could rush in and see to it that he was in good health. She was acting like a paranoid housewife. She couldn't even remember the last time she had gone out on a date or even as a fun night out with a friend. Her blonde friend had pestered her about finding a guy to hook up with for years until she finally gave up. She had seriously tried a few dates with a couple fellow shinobi. In the end they had politely told her that their relationship best stay platonic. All her friends had someone in their lives except for her.

Naruto had finally asked out Hinata a couple years back and they were now happily married with a baby boy on the way, Ino was going out with their snack eating friend Choji, Shikamaru was currently living in Suna with his bride-to-be Temari; even Lee had moved on. He was now living with Tenten. Kiba had been on a mission when he had stumbled upon a young woman that he soon fell madly in love with. Shino now held a pleasant relationship with the pretty girl that worked at the flower shop just down the street from the hospital. The only other person left, noted to be Konoha's most eligible bachelor, was Hyuuga Neji. She had never really thought about him since he beat his cousin to a bloody pulp at the chuunin exams.

Now that she had a clear picture of him in her mind she wondered why she hadn't noticed him. He was now an ANBU captain. His hair was long as ever and shone beautifully in the rays of the sun. He was actually very handsome. No, scratch that. He was drop dead gorgeous. He reminded her of Sasuke. The dark and mysterious past, mesmerizing eyes, antisocial attitude, and a strong desire for strength and power. She wondered what he was doing.

_Most likely training…_

**Without a shirt!**

She felt a blush creep up onto her face. The picture in her head made her shiver and she was both enraged and thankful for her inner voice. A sluggish movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention; all thoughts of a shirtless Neji were removed immediately. She turned to focus on the man in the bed in front of her.

His eyes were open and glazed over. She was taken aback. He had never shown an emotion other than pain or vexation before. She opened her mouth to say his name but he interrupted her with a small whimper. She came to his side and reached to take his hand in hers. She rubbed his fingers with hers. His hand felt like ice. She dropped his hand for a second to fetch a clean pile of sheets to cover him with. She peeled the bloody one off slowly, making sure not to irritate any of his bones. She had no idea how sensitive they were and she didn't want to take a chance. She placed the sheets at the foot of the bed and walked off once more. She came back with a bowl of lukewarm water and a small white towel. She let the towel soak up the water and began to wipe the blood from his body. She noticed how he relaxed almost at once when the warm towel touched his skin. His whimpering died down, his eyes following her hand as it glided down his arm. She squeezed the towel out over the bowl and cleaned it up to start on his chest and stomach. His muscles rippled under her touch and his eyes fell closed.

Once she was finished washing him up she placed the towel in the bowl and placed it in the hall next to the door. She walked back in to see that he had opened his eyes and was staring at her like a lost child in the woods.

He looked almost young and innocent. Her feet started to move and she found herself at the bedside again. She didn't know why but she felt she had to comfort him somehow. After pulled the sheets up over to rest just under his chin she brushed a stray strand of his hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. She tensed as his hand came up to grip her thigh. Her jade gaze fell to burn into his. A tear fell down his cheek.

"He left me."

With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: He might have been slightly OC in this chapter but I did this only because I wanted to reveal a slightly softer side to his character. One that is just as lost and alone as Sakura is. Also, you may have noticed that I do not use either of their names in the story. In all honesty I have no clue as to why I did it…just a simple experiment I suppose.

Thanks for reading, please review! Compliments and constructive criticism are appreciated immensely.


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