[HOLD] Plain Sight

Chapter 6: Crimson Tearstains

Iruka glanced at Naruto, whose head was down, blood still dribbling down his face. Why is he bleeding so much? He wondered. It aroused a severe concern within him, as well as an untold fear for whatever reason that may be.

They kept walking despite the spots of blood that trailed behind them. He knew that he would need to clean it up after they got done with their upcoming conversation, but he would worry about that later, this—the situation presented at hand—was deemed far more important. Cleaning was trivial at the moment.

They continued walking down the corridor slower than Iruka wished for them to move, but he made no motion to speed them up due to his lack of knowledge on Naruto's condition. He intended to lead them to the Instructor's Lounge, as no other person would be present in there for another hour and a half when break begins.

Naruto still refused to angle his head upward and refused to move on his own as well, causing Iruka to partially drag Naruto onto their destination. Though in Naruto's defense, he was still thoroughly traumatized after his thoughts, doubts, and horrid memories had all flashed before his mind. It was only normal for him to be, after all, it was only last night the horrid event occurred. It was relatively surprising that the weight of the matter was only hitting at its worst right now.

It was all unexpected really. It was a single inability to do a task he normally could do that got him so unexplainably petrified and self doubtful.

The pair came to a stop. They had made it to the Instructor's Lounge.

Iruka opened the door just slightly, peering inside for anyone—just in case someone was in there for whatever reason. As expected, no one else was there. He pushed the door open completely and gently but firmly pulled Naruto inside. He shut the door quietly behind them.

Afterward, Iruka lead his student over to the couch that was placed at the center of the circular, spacious, room. Very lightly he pushed Naruto to sit down on said couch. Naruto let himself practically fall onto the seat, his body sagging and downtrodden, a small shiver wracked through his system.

Iruka grabbed a nearby chair and placed it in front of Naruto, seating himself there to get a closer look at his student. He studied Naruto for about a minute before reaching for his student's chin to lift it upwards.

At the contact, Naruto flinched and shrunk away more, trembling as a leaf in the wind would. He made no sound other than his slightly labored breathing.

More questions arose in Iruka's brain, but he pushed the smaller—less important—questions into the back of his mind.

"Naruto," Iruka began, "what's the matter? What happened?"

He received no response. Iruka's worries began to rise more, still seeing the blood that was coming from Naruto's eye area. It was continuous; it was highly probable that the blood would stain his cheeks.

With a trembling breath, Iruka got up from his chair. He made his way to sit next to Naruto.

He needed to see the cause of the blood flow. In all honesty, he knew that he should have brought him straight to any medical ninja he could find, but something was telling him that Naruto had hidden this for a reason.

Iruka's hand was trembling, he'd seen things in his line of work, things he hadn't expected, but he didn't know if he was ready to see the extent of what was wrong with his own student. That's why he had taken on the occupational task of an Academy Instructor to begin with. 

He reached for the back of the sock that was tied around Naruto's head. Hand trembling.

His hand made contact with the back of the cloth, Naruto flinched away violently, making a noise in the back of his throat that sounded much like a mix between and growl and whine of pain.

I barely touched it... Iruka thought. "Please. Naruto. I need to see what's wrong."

Naruto huddled in on himself, shielding his face from view. "No, you can't, no one can," was the only reply Iruka received. His voice was rough and strained.

"Naruto. I need to see. I will take you to the hospital right now if need be and they can take care of it." Iruka stated, knowing from prior experiences that Naruto hated the hospital. This threat held truth though, Naruto, nonetheless of whether he hated the place, would need to be taken to the hospital. He will be taken to the hospital. No matter what. It was evident Naruto was in immediate need of medical attention.

Another silence loomed overhead. The soft chirping of birds from the outside world was the only disturbance in the air.

It stayed this way. 10. 15. 20. 25. Minutes. No words. Only quivers. Iruka needed to know what was wrong. Why his student—who he saw like a little annoying brother—was bleeding. What this child was hiding.

Iruka's hand left his lap, reaching out toward Naruto's covered face again. Naruto was unaware, unable to see the hand coming close.

His hand made contact, and Naruto flinched away violently once more. The blood had dried on his cheeks at this point. They had surely stained his cheeks an angry red, it would be noticeable even after it was washed off.

Naruto's eyebrows, whatever of them were visible from under the sock, were furrowed. Whether it be in pain, sorrow, anger, or all of the above, it was unknown.

Iruka emitted a sigh and stood up. "It's okay. You don't want me to know what happened. But, at least let me take you to the restroom so you can clean yourself up." He would be lying if he said it didn't hurt him. That his student who he thought he was so close to, didn't trust him enough for him to allow help.

The teacher received a small nod.

Naruto stood and Iruka took his shoulder, leading him to the restroom. He knew soap, water, and rigorous scrubbing would not relieve Naruto of the crimson tearstains that would remain on his cheeks for a few days, and in Iruka's mind, forever.