When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 56 -

Sasuke Uchiha sat in the waiting room of Konoha Hospital late that night, staring blankly down at his hands. He felt numb. His body, his mind, his very spirit felt as if the life had been sucked out of them. Aside from himself and one old woman passed out in the chair across from him, the room was empty. There were a few magazines strewn about the floor, discussing the latest celebrity rumors and Angelina Jolie's umpteenth adopted baby. Of course, Sasuke was in no mood to read any of them – in fact, he wasn't in the mood to do much of anything.

Kakashi and Iruka had been hospitalized – the shock of being attacked, along with the beatings they'd received, had been enough to knock them unconscious. A nurse had informed Sasuke that they were in stable conditions. They would live. Naruto, on the other hand, was in the intensive care unit. Sasuke had sat by him on the ambulance ride to the hospital, holding his hand firmly, fearing to let go. When they arrived, however, the paramedics had torn his blond away and placed him on a gurney. Sasuke had watched from the ambulance as Naruto was rushed down the hallway, an oxygen mask over his face and his torn clothes drenched in blood.

Sasuke prayed it wasn't the last time he'd see the vulpine boy alive.

His eyes fixed on the floor, Sasuke tried his hardest to comprehend all that had happened. When the police arrived, they told him they'd received a call ten minutes before, but had been unable to get there quickly because of the blizzard. As far as Sasuke could tell, though, no one had been able to make the call – Kakashi and Iruka had been tied up, and Naruto was cornered by Kisame. At first, the police had thought Sasuke had been the caller – they said he sounded just like the man they'd spoken to.

It had to have been Itachi... he never intended to leave there alive. He knew the Sharingan would kill him, so he called the police to deal with Kisame and put an end to it all...

That made sense – Itachi would've had the opportunity. All he had to do was get away from Kisame for a moment to make the call. But, of course, when the police arrived, Kisame was already dead. Sasuke concluded that Naruto had killed him – he must've broken free from the shark-man's grip and grabbed Sasuke's katana, the sword Naruto had always admired.

Dammit, Naruto... if only you'd waited... the police would've fixed everything, and you wouldn't have been shot...

His fingers curling tightly into fists, Sasuke bit his lip. Never in his life had he felt so useless. Even when his parents died, he hadn't felt so utterly powerless. Now, though, he was grown up, he was supposed to have some control over his life, but instead everything was exactly the same. He was alone, and the boy he loved was dying in the other room.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, Sasuke never even heard the waiting room door open. It wasn't until he saw the shadow looming over him that the Uchiha glanced up to find a familiar, redheaded teen waiting, his face expressionless.

"Mind if I sit down?" Gaara asked in his monotone voice.

Sasuke said nothing, but stared back at his hands. Gaara sat down beside the teen, and together they remained silent for some time. Sasuke could only imagine what was going through the other teen's head – after all, he loved Naruto, too. He was probably thinking about what would've happened if Naruto had chosen him instead, if Naruto had returned that stolen kiss all those months ago and shared that love. Naruto never would've met Itachi. He never would've been shot, never would've been endangered...

"It's not your fault, you know."

Gaara's voice maintained its usual calm, quiet demeanor, but somehow the words pierced the silence like a knife. Though stunned, Sasuke did not look up – it was too painful to hear his thoughts spoken aloud. "Yes it is... if Naruto hadn't met me, then this never would've happened..."