We Becomes Us

Chapter 19

After the news of hearing that Deidara's son, which they decided to name Souta, wasn't a match, Naruto fell into a depression. The hope he had for Sasuke getting better, left him.

Over the next four weeks, Sasuke's condition got worse. One day, a week after Souta was born, Sasuke had a nosebleed. The raven never experienced it before but Naruto quickly helped him with controlling the bleeding. Now, they were so frequent, Sasuke would just sleep face down through them.

The unexplained bruising was also worsening. Every new bruise Naruto spotted just drove him deeper and deeper into his feelings of emptiness. Most nights he would cry himself to sleep, feeling helpless.

Deidara didn't visit too often since Souta was born, but Itachi would still try to visit every weekend. He gave the blonde concerned looks, but never said anything to him. How could he? He was starting to feel helpless himself.

Tsunade's visits always seemed grim as well. Naruto long ago stopped asking how Sasuke's condition is doing. At this point, all news was bad news, he didn't need to know the details.

The past week, Sasuke was hooked to an IV, providing him nutrients. He hadn't been able to keep anything down besides some dry crackers and maybe a handful of plain white rice. Seeing him conscious was more of a miracle than anything. Him waking up would be filled with groans of pain, sometimes even screams.

Naruto's days have become dull. He was too swollen to move and too depressed to do anything but stare at the wall ahead of him and thinking about Sasuke's condition.

"Hey Naruto." Tsunade's gentle voice called out to him. She walked over to his bed, trying to capture his gaze. Cerulean blues were dulled to a grey, unseeing. She frowned before placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's time for your checkup, you're thirty-eight weeks, you know."

Naruto's eyes snapped to hers as her words clicked in his mind. He sat up quickly, surprising her enough to take a step back. "I want a c-section."

Tsunade's eyes widened at his demanding tone. "What? Naruto-"

"I want a c-section, Tsunade." His eyes narrowed into a glare as his voice was laced with anger.

At the tone, Tsunade's own eyes narrowed in irritation. She sucked her teeth. "You have been undernourished for the past month, Naruto. These babies need all the time they can get to be healthy."

An audible growl came from the back of Naruto's throat as anger seemed to rush through him. "I'm losing the love of my life, Tsunade." His voice was heavy with anger and slightly raspy. Before today, he was hardly even talking. "Two weeks is nothing compared to losing him forever!"

"You are being selfish, Naruto. You are putting your own wants over your baby's health." She retorted.

Naruto stared at her in disbelief. "My own wants?! This is his life!"

"It's their lives too, Naruto!" She snapped back at him. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down. It will get the two of them nowhere if their anger continues like this. "Sasuke made it this long, he'll be able to last another two weeks."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "And what if he doesn't?"

The two stared at each other, both their glares set. Tsunade finally crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not even talking about inducing labor until you're at least forty weeks. Let things play out naturally, Naruto."

Naruto's glare began to turn watery, he was feeling misunderstood. He covered his eyes with his arm and laid down, silently crying.

Tsunade sighed again, dropping her eyes to her side. "Naruto," she felt guilty, but was making the best decision. She sat as best as she could on the edge of Naruto's bed. "Two weeks really isn't that long. And Sasuke, he's a very strong person and he's still fighting. You just have to have faith, don't give up on him."