Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!

---

“Oi, wake up bastard,” Naruto said, shaking the raven roughly. It was past nine o’clock and both young men were due at the hospital at ten. Naruto really didn’t want to wake up, especially since he was waking up in his bed alone, for the first time in quite a while. Moreover, he really didn’t want to go to work, either. He was usually so happy, so bright, so hyperactive, and it seemed to have affected his patients in a good way. Even when Naruto was pained, or saddened, he was still able to cover it up with a smile. However, would he really be able to do that now?

Sasuke groaned and sat up, looking at the blond who was dressed, and cleaned up, ready to go to work. The blond wasn’t smiling, and his voice didn’t sound the same. Sasuke knew he was still feeling the after-effects of his fiancé’s death.

“Naruto, maybe you shouldn’t go back to work yet, no one there is forcing you, you do know that, don’t you?” Sasuke asked, but it seemed as though the blond was ignoring him, until he got to the doorway, when he gripped onto it, and turned around slightly.

“I know I don’t have to go back yet, that’s what all the doctors and nurses said, but what about my patients? They’re suffering so much more than I am. They’ve gone through so much more than I have, right? All I want to do is set them free, that’s my goal…and that’s what Yamato would have wanted me to do,”

---

6 Months Later

“Well, the way you talk about him, it almost seems as though you may have developed a little bit of a crush on him,” Naruto laughed at the end of his sentence. Zabuza had sat up at Naruto’s joke, and glared at him, seemingly angry.

“I have Haku, why would I want someone like Kakashi?! He can’t even speak!” Zabuza replied, and Sasuke sighed from his seat next to Naruto. Only the blond dobe would joke around with an insane killer and get away with it.

“So? Even if you love someone, I’m sure you can develop a crush,” Naruto said slowly, his smile slightly halting.

“Yes, and even if you loved someone, you can still go on, isn’t that right, brat? You can still love someone else after all of the pain, right?” Zabuza asked. Sasuke was sure that he was directing that towards Naruto, because Zabuza, as well as all Naruto’s patients knew about Yamato, because they were informed about his death, when they hadn’t seen Naruto for a few days. In addition, they all, also noticed a sudden change in the blond, and they all wanted to make him feel happy again.

“Well, I’m going to be going now, alright? I’ll see you tomorrow evening, Zabuza,” Naruto said as he stood up, and closed his book, which had Zabuza’s status on it. The man seemed to be getting better, sometimes, and others he seemed to be getting worse. There had to be something that they’d be able to figure out, but Naruto just couldn’t place his finger on it.

Sasuke watched him intently as the blond locked the door to Zabuza’s room. Naruto seemed deep in thought, and Sasuke wasn’t sure, if it was because of what Zabuza said, or because Naruto was thinking of some sort of treatment.

“Oi, dobe, who are you scheduled to see next?” Sasuke asked.

“Ah, well, its lunchtime, so all the patients are to be brought to the lunch room now, so I can freely talk to anyone I want, really…including any other patients, from any other doctors,”

Naruto had been working at the hospital for a little over six months, during his time there, he hadn’t seen any other patients aside from his own, and he never had the whole of lunch to spend with them. It made Naruto slightly happy, that he’d be able to see what other patients were here, and what other doctors treated them. Although Naruto was an extremely social person, it seemed as though Tsunade and Shizune kept him away from the other doctors and patients.

“Well, that’s certainly new. Are you sure, you’d like to stay here? Or would you rather go with me to eat?” Sasuke offered, hoping Naruto would agree.

“No! I want to stay here, but you can go if you’d like, Sasuke. There are plenty of other bodyguards here, in case anything happens, I don’t need you here,” Naruto didn’t really mean anything by saying ‘I don’t need you here’ but for some reason, to Sasuke, it felt like a stab in the heart. There was something about the blond doctor that he couldn’t help but smile inwardly about. He had wanted to ask Naruto out on a date for quite some time, but didn’t want to interfere with the blond’s healing process. However, really, how much was enough time?

They say it takes one entire year to heal from a death. You will never fully heal, or course, but after a year, you go through things (holidays, birthdays, etc) that you’d normally go through with a person. After a year, you’re already used to not having them with you.

“It’s only been six months…isn’t that too soon?” Sasuke asked in a whisper, but Naruto heard him mumbling something.

“Eh? Did you say something, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, placing his hand on Naruto’s shoulder, bringing him away from his thoughts. The look on Naruto’s face held worry, and curiosity.

“I’m fine, and I’ll stay with you for now, Naruto,” There was never really a moment of peace between the two. They were almost always arguing, calling each other names, insulting each other, and making one another mad, but they were happy, as ‘partners’. Naruto often joked about asking Tsunade for a new bodyguard, and Sasuke often joked about quitting, and simply going back to his boring life.

Nevertheless, Naruto would never do that, he had too much fun with Sasuke around.

In addition, Sasuke…would never let go of Naruto, because unknowingly to the two of them, Naruto was helping Sasuke heal from the murder of his family and disappearance of his brother. Sasuke rarely thought about Itachi anymore, and he had basically given up his search for his elder brother, no longer finding it important anymore. Itachi had killed all of his precious people, but also, because of Itachi, Sasuke met his most precious person.

---

“Wow, this hospital has so many more patients than I ever would have imagined!” Naruto gasped, looking around in the patient’s lunchroom. Amongst the patients, were many other doctors he had never seen before. One of the doctors has strange, bright red hair, which was short on one side, and long on the other. She had red eyes and black-rimmed glasses, and was currently sitting with a tall man with crazy orange hair.

“Ah! Hello, are you Karin?” Naruto said as he walked up to the female doctor. Sasuke followed close behind, looking around the room. He was sure there were a few more doctors, and a few more patients, but the patients that were too dangerous stayed in there room for a majority of the time, and not all doctors worked everyday.

“Yes, and what’s it to you?” She asked angrily, causing her patient to frown and look over at Naruto.

“Oh, it’s just…I don’t really know any of the doctors here, so I figured-”

“Figured what? That I’d want to be friends with you or something? You’re just a kid, I have no idea why you’re even here, or how you can even be a doctor, but I’m sure this stupid hospital can really care less, right? I know I don’t,” She said as she turned away, and stood up, leaving her patient alone. This seemed to be a big mistake.

The man stood up, revealing to be very big. Not fat, or anything of the sort, but muscled and tall. He seemed to have gotten angry at what Karin had said, and started to run over to her, with the intention of attacking. However, before he could get any closer, a smaller man, with light colored hair had stopped him.

“Now now, Juugo, you know not to attack anyone, right? How many times do I have to tell you before it sinks in?” The man said, shoving the orange-haired patient, Juugo, back into a chair.

“He insulted the other doctor! And she angers me…if she doesn’t care why is she even a doctor?” The other man shrugged and took out a needle, pulling at Juugo’s arms and tapping it slightly, to reveal a vein. In response, Juugo struggled.

“O…oi! Wait! May…maybe you don’t really need to do that! He seems alright now, so…don’t sedate him,” Naruto said, stepping forward. At this point, Juugo had stopped struggling, and the man had loosened his grip a bit.

“And who are you, exactly?”

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto! I’m a doctor here!” Naruto responded, smiling.

“Oh yes, I’ve heard about you. I’m Suigetsu, Dr. Karin’s bodyguard, and I’m guessing the man standing behind you is Uchiha Sasuke?” Suigetsu asked, completely letting go of Juugo, who shrank into his chair, relieved that he wasn’t going to be sedated.

“Yup! That’s him, so you’re not going to sedate Juugo, right?” Naruto asked, looking over at the orange-haired man who seemed to be trying to become one with the seat.

“No, not anymore, he seems fine now that you’re here, which is strange, but I suppose that’s a good thing. But I’ve gotta go now, to find Karin, before the bitch complains about me,” Suigetsu said as he stood up, leaving the three alone.

“Well, that was different…” Sasuke said, brow furrowing. Those two…were weird…and Karin seemed a bit too cruel to be a doctor. It made Sasuke wonder what the other doctors were like.

“Juugo, are you okay now?” Naruto asked, kneeling in front of the chair that Juugo was sitting in. Juugo nod his head in response, and turned away. Naruto got the feeling that he wanted to be left alone, so he stood up.

“Hey, Naruto, who is that, with Kakashi? Isn’t that…Iruka?” Sasuke pointed out. Sasuke knew Iruka, because Sasuke and Naruto (as well as some other of Naruto’s friends) often hung out, and Sasuke met Iruka one day when Naruto went to go visit him. Moreover, of course, he knew of him from the stories he told.

“Wha…what?! What is he doing here?!” Naruto asked, sprinting over to the pair and sitting down next to Kakashi, causing Iruka to gasp.

“Uh…umm, hello Naruto, how are you doing?” Iruka asked, blushing slightly.

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine, Iruka-sensei, but what are you doing here?” He asked, moving over slightly so Sasuke could sit next to him.

“It’s…a long story. I promise I’ll tell you soon, all right? But for now, Sasuke, may I speak with you, over there for a moment, in private?” Iruka asked, and Sasuke looked at him, confused. However, nevertheless, he stood up and followed Iruka.

“Tch, my friends tell me nothing!” Naruto sighed, laying his head down on the table. First Sakura, now Lee?

“It’s difficult, isn’t it? To have someone you care about in a mental institute?” Kakashi said, and Naruto slowly picked his head up. Kakashi was…talking. He was actually talking! However, Naruto didn’t want to make a big deal about it, because he didn’t want Kakashi to stop talking.

“Well, yes, I understand that, but…”

“I was eighteen when I met Iruka, and we met in our first year of college. We were both going to become high school teachers when we got out of college. My best friend, Uchiha Obito was there too, but he wanted to go to law school after college. I had known Obito all my life, and we’ve been through a lot together. He was like my brother, and I trusted him with my life. After about a year, he noticed that I was watching Iruka a lot, and that I talked about him more than I should. Obito made me realize how much I loved Iruka. However, I just didn’t have the courage to tell him…It wasn’t until our first semester of junior year in college that I had worked up the courage to tell him, and it turned out, he felt the same. I was happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I had Iruka, and Obito, and I felt as though nothing could go wrong,” Kakashi paused at this, and cleared his throat. After now talking for ten years, it made his throat sore to talk so much. He quickly glances around the room to make sure that no one was listening, and continued.

“Our summer of junior year, Iruka, Obito and I were supposed to go to Cancun on vacation, but the night we were packing, something went horribly wrong,”

Flashback:

“Obito!” Kakashi whined at his best friend, a bit annoyed that the man was always late.

“I know, Kakashi! I’m almost finished. Where’s Iruka, anyway?” Obito asked, closing his suitcase and placing it on the floor.

“He had to do a few things before he left, but he’s going to meet us at the airport, but if you don’t hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Kakashi said, standing up.

“Hey! I’m ready, all right! Come on, let’s go.”

A majority of the car ride to the airport went fine, until Obito had to pull his car over, when someone began tapping on the window. The person didn’t look like a police officer, but Obito gave him the benefit of the doubt, and rolled the window open slightly.

“Can I help you, sir?” Obito asked. He and Kakashi were feeling a bit uneasy, because it was dark out, and they had been pulled over on a dark, abandoned street. In addition, adding to the uneasiness, four more men stepped out of the other car.

“Get out of the car,” The men said. The seriousness in his voice made both Kakashi and Obito realize that he was not going to ask them again. Slowly, Kakashi and Obito unbuckled their seatbelts and stepped out of the car.

“You,” The man said, pointing at Obito. “You can get back in the car and leave, we only want Kakashi,”

“Wha…what? Are you kidding me?! I’m not leaving him! What is it you want with him, anyway?”

“We are to kill him tonight,” The man said slowly, taking off his hat and sunglasses, revealing who he was.

“Y…you! Why…why are you doing this! Why are you even going to kill me? What will that prove?”

“Kakashi-kun, there’s a lot more than you know, and a lot more than you’re friend here will ever know. Nevertheless, you can thank your father for his mistakes, because if it weren’t for him, you’d be left alone. Time to taste revenge, Kakashi,” The man aimed his gun at Kakashi and fired. Kakashi heard the bullet and prepared himself for the shot, but nothing came. Instead, he felt himself pushed to the floor, and the weight of another body on him. He heard a few more shots, and felt a stinging pain in his left eye, before he opened his right eye.

“No….no! What…what did he ever do to you!” Kakashi yelled, holding onto the body of his best friend, which took the bullets for him.

“It’s alright, Kakashi, don’t worry. Just do me a favor, okay? Become the teacher you always wanted to be, and marry Iruka. Don’t forget me either, just…live on for me,” Obito said as he breathing slowed, before stopping completely.

“No…no!” Kakashi began sobbing, rocking the dead body of his former best friend. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! They were only supposed to go to the airport and meet Iruka there. They were supposed to spend their summer in Cancun!

“Well, what an interesting turn of events, eh? We never meant to kill him, so the death of your best friend is all on you, Kakashi. Perhaps that is enough revenge. You’ll have to live out the rest of your life, knowing that it’s your fault that Obito is dead, he couldn’t continue onto law school because of you, and if you really are to marry Iruka, Obito won’t be your best man. Kakashi, your best friend was brutally murdered, and it’s your fault,”

End Flashback.

“Oh…Kakashi…” Naruto honestly didn’t know what to say about it. The blond always knew how to comfort people, but now…he was speechless.

“It’s okay to cry, Kakashi. And, it’s not your fault. You didn’t have control over the situation,” Naruto said, rubbing the elder mans back slightly, trying to calm him down.

“I don’t know anymore, but you’re the first person I’ve told. And I must thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have found Iruka again,” Kakashi said slowly, smiling.

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“You’ve told Iruka my name, because he began visiting me right after you started working here,” Kakashi said.

“Wha…what does that have to do with anything?” Naruto asked.

“When I was admitted here, no one told Iruka…He never knew what happened to me. All he knew, was that Obito was dead, and I was no where to be found…Naruto, this hospital…doesn’t tell the patients families they are here,”

---

Oh wow…so I completely changed the ending of this story! And...I LOVE the new ending! It’s the exactly opposite of what I originally had, but hahaa, I love it!

And I’m so sorry that I took sooo long to update this! I had a majority of this written, already, but didn’t work on it? Oh well, I really hope you all liked it! And now that Kakashi can talk, he’s going to be telling Naruto a lot more.

As for Naruto’s patients, some of them will actually get out, but some of them won’t. Care to take a guess so I can see how many people are correct? And there’s…so much more to everything then you all think. Hehe.