Cuts & Bruises

Chapter 12

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pocket. "I didn't want to be right."

They continued walking in silence until they reached the playground. Naruto nodded towards the swings and continued walking, not checking to see if the raven was following behind him.

Sasuke sat down on the swing closest to the end and Naruto took up the one besides him. Sasuke watched in silence as Naruto began to lightly swing. "I think my mom's getting better."

Naruto dug his feet into the ground, stopping abruptly. His eyes widened as he looked at the raven. "No shit?"

Sasuke shook his head smiling. "No shit. She was actually talking to me yesterday. Not very much, but enough."

Naruto grinned brightly at him and gave him a nudge. "That's awesome, dude! I'm so happy for you."

Sasuke let out a sigh, looking down at his lap. "I wish Itachi was that way too. He believes I'm making it all up because I want attention. He got so mad he just left and never came back this morning."

Naruto let out a hiss. "Ouch. I'm sorry. Honestly, he's probably got a lot going on at work right now that if he doesn't hear anything normal, he just flips out."

Sasuke snorted before looking at Naruto with a playful smirk. "It's cute of you to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Naruto rolled his eyes before he nudged Sasuke and laughed. "I didn't even tell you."

The raven raised an eyebrow encouraging the blonde to continue.

"Iruka and Kakashi were talking about adopting me." Naruto's smile grew as he beamed at Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What? Really?"

Naruto nodded.

"Congratulations, I'm happy for you." Sasuke gave him a small smile.

"Thanks." Naruto looked up at the sky then back to Sasuke. "See? It's nice to be able to talk with a friend."

Sasuke laughed lightly. "Yeah. It is." He cleared his throat and looked nervously at the blonde. "Can I," he took a quick breath. "Can I talk to you about my soulmate?"

Naruto's eyes widened owlishly in surprise before he nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Sasuke let out a breath of relief. "Okay cool. I'm, really worried about her. I think she may be in a situation where she's in trouble?"

Naruto tilted his head. "Trouble?

"Yeah. Some trouble she can't get herself out of. And I just feel guilty because I'm not there, stopping her from getting hurt."

Naruto studied Sasuke carefully before giving him a sad smile and looking down at the ground in front of him. "I know exactly how you feel. My soulmate is in a similar situation. And every time I get angry because I feel like I can't protect her."

"Yes!" Sasuke was surprised at how relieved he felt having someone to be able to relate too. He looked up at the sky. "I hope I find her soon, Naruto. I'm going to make her the happiest person alive."

Naruto snickered. "Sorry, it's going to have to be second person. Cause my girl is gonna be number one!"

The two went their separate ways after finishing their talk on the swings. It was almost the end of the school day anyway. Sasuke took his time getting back home.

When he got home, he went straight for his mom's room. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and looked at her. She was facing him but her eyes were closed. He smiled down at her. "Hey mom. I skipped school today with Naruto. But we made up after the girl he asked out really did turn out to be using him to get to me." He watched his mother open her eyes, but she was looking past him. "We got to talking a lot, I told him about Itachi not believing me about you getting better. And then he told me about how his foster parents are talking about adopting him."

Sasuke let out a sigh. "And then we started talking about our soulmates. I told him about how my soulmate is in trouble and he says so is his. And we both feel the same and it just feels so, great. I finally have someone to relate too."

"A...good, friend." His mom rasped out. Sasuke looked down at her but she was still looking past him. "I'm...so...happy for you."

Sasuke took his mom's hand. "Thank you. I miss you, mom." He watched her and felt her hand give his a gentle squeeze.

"Sasuke." She looked up at him and gave him a smile. "I miss...you too."

"Did you always hear me when I was telling my stories to you?" Sasuke was curious but cautious.

She was silent for a moment and Sasuke deflated, feeling disappointed. Of course she'd go back to being comatose after asking such a question.

"Most times." She finally gave the answer. "When I...was awake."

Sasuke was shocked by the answer. He wasn't expecting her to actually be listening to the things he said, even though he was hopeful about it he tried to be realistic. "How come you've been silent for so long? And why choose now to talk?"

"I chose, now...for you." Sasuke felt his heartbeat faster. His mom smiled and tears began to fall. "You...needed, me."

Sasuke felt his own eyes sting with tears. "But I needed you then too, mom. Why didn't you talk to me then?"

His mom looked away and she took her hand out of his. "I...didn't know," she paused and Sasuke realized she was starting to go back to her coma-like state. "What to...say."

Sasuke sighed before standing up. "I love you, mom." He placed a kiss on her forehead, knowing she wouldn't answer back. He left the room, heading down to the kitchen.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if Itachi was going to be coming home for dinner. He's never seen Itachi that pissed before. He shook his head as he stepped off the last stair. He walked down the hallway into the kitchen to see Itachi walking through the side door.

Itachi made contact with Sasuke's eyes and he gave him an apologetic look. "Sasuke," he walked over to the table and placed the keys on the table then stood in front of Sasuke. "I'm sorry for blowing up at you yesterday, honestly I'm just very stressed out."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's okay. I talked with Naruto and mom and I'm feeling better."

Itachi nodded. "That's good to-" he stopped and groaned as he finally understood what his little brother said. "You're really going to start this? Again? I just got home, Sasuke."

"I don't care whether you believe me or not, Itachi." Sasuke walked towards the fridge, figuring out what to make for dinner. "I'm going to talk with mom and when she's ready to start talking with you, then you'll finally understand."

"No Sasuke. You are going to understand." The fridge door slammed closed and Sasuke looked in surprise to see his brother with his hand pressed firmly against the door, glaring down at him. "No more talk about mom. I'm stressed out enough from work I don't need to add on my little brother going as batshit crazy as our mom."

The words struck Sasuke, hard. And he rubbed at his chest where it stung.

"The next time I hear this shit, you're going to be the one finding a place to sleep that night. Not me." Itachi walked past him and up the stairs.

Sasuke felt the tears sting his eyes. As soon as he heard his brother's bedroom door close, he made his way to his own bedroom. He threw his nightstand drawer open through blurry eyes. The hurt running through him overpowered his judgement as he grabbed the razor. He pulled his sleeve up, farther than normal, looking at the pure, untouched pale skin. He brought the razor to the fresh skin, and made the first cut.