Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Insanely Yours ❯ Zealotry ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven: Zealotry

 

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"...maybe, I should've taken the medicine they gave me...that would've been a good idea..." Naruto thought to himself as he turned over onto his back in bed, and stared up at the ceiling. The bedroom was dark, and the only light that could be seen was that of the moonlight which was spilling in from the window.

 

On the other side of the room, Shikamaru was snoring lightly, and occasionally he spoke in his sleep. Naruto sighed heavily, before turning onto his stomach, and burying his head into his pillow. He was tired, exhausted even, and yet he couldn't sleep at all. This night was unsettling, and his body wouldn't allow him to fall asleep.

 

The entire building was silent, and Naruto was probably the only person who was still awake. Although he hadn't taken the sleeping pills, that shouldn't be keeping him from falling asleep. He'd never had problems before he started taking that medication, but now, he couldn't even close his eyes and sleep peacefully; it was irritating.

 

Abruptly, the boy sat up, while yawning and stretching his arms out. He glanced at the small clock on the wall, and saw that it was three in the morning. Naruto knew that usually, he'd wake up four hours from now. He doubted that this would happen tonight. Maybe if he didn't fall asleep soon enough, Shizune would sedate him.

 

Quietly, he stood up from the bed, and walked towards the bedroom door. He knew not to make much noise, because if he did, someone would surely wake up and he would be in more trouble than he could handle. So, silently, he opened the door and walked outside into the hallway. Naruto was instantly thankful that Shikamaru was a heavy sleeper.

 

The hallways were eerily dark, and had it not been for the small hanging in the corners, they would've been pitch black. Naruto yawned again, and continued to make his way towards the tv room. As he got to the room, he started to hear strange sounds. He could swear that he heard the sound of someone talking. As soon as he reached the room, he was surprised to see that the person talking was in fact, noise from the television. Sitting in the small chair in front of it was the last person that Naruto expected to see; Gaara.

 

The redhead eyed him suspiciously, as he slowly walked over towards the couch on the other side of the room. Naruto gulped silently; he wasn't sure if Gaara was going to flip out on him, or go crazy like he always did. No one ever knew when the boy would have one of his violent episodes, so most of the patients steered clear of him.

 

Gaara now had an indifferent expression on his face, as he watched the blonde sit on the couch. "You don't have to look so nervous; I'm not going to do anything to you." He said, as he slightly tilted his head to the side. "...that's only when Shukaku is here...only when he's here..." the redhead mumbled.

 

For several moments, Naruto watched Gaara. The boy seemed almost oblivious to his presence, as he watched whatever program was on television. Naruto hadn't seen him this calm, and collected in a very long time. Most of the time he was usually talking to himself, or freaking out, so, it was nice to see him doing neither; tonight, he was just a regular person.

 

"...you tongued your meds, didn't you?" Gaara asked Naruto, not even bothering to look away from the television.

 

Naruto sighed aloud. "Yeah, I did. And right now I'm wishing that I hadn't." he mumbled.

 

"You don't need the medication." The redhead told him. "I'm sure you weren't taking them before you came here."

 

That was entirely true. Naruto hadn't ever needed any medication, save for the occasional cold. He realized that he was slowly but surely becoming dependant on the meds that they'd been feeding him here; maybe that's what they'd wanted to happen to him. The boy sighed, and he brought his knees up to his chest while he sat on the couch. He attempted to watch whatever was playing on the television.

 

"Don't let them control you." Gaara said to Naruto, in a voice that could barely be considered a whisper. The blonde eyed him curiously "Don't let them..."

 

Naruto shrugged off Gaara's comment, and sighed. "...it's not like I have a choice." He muttered under his breath. He didn't bother to continue the conversation with Gaara, partly because he didn't feel like being irritated by speaking on the subject matter. He looked up at the other boy, who was now staring intently on the ground. Naruto saw that his shoulders were hunched over, and he was silently muttering to himself; this wasn't an unusual sight at all. The redhead was obviously talking to one of the voices in his head; this voice had to be 'mother'. Had it been Shukaku, there would've been a significant difference in his behavior; he would've been breaking everything in sight. The blonde sighed, and laid his head down on his arms, which were folded atop his knees. "...don't you hate it here, Gaara?" he asked.

 

Gaara raised his eyes to stare straight at Naruto. He shook his head slowly, back and forth. "No...I'm safe here. And everyone on the outside is safe from me. This place is what's right for me." He answered. And that statement was the very last thing he said to Naruto as they sat there.

 

The blonde realized that what Gaara had told him was the truth. Everyone believed that Gaara was a dangerous person; some even believed that he was a monster. He'd heard a story from Sai about Gaara; the boy had told Naruto that when Gaara was younger, and he used to talk to himself, his father would beat him until he promised not to talk to himself again. He'd said that Gaara's father never loved him, and that he was an abusive, sadistic man. Naruto actually believed the story, but, considering that Sai had told him, and Sai was a pathological liar, parts of that story may not have even been true.

 

Either way, Naruto knew that no matter how mentally ill a person was, there is no reason that they should be treated badly; they were normal people who deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.

 

Naruto had heard, from Sai, one too many horror stories about the people who were staying in the hospital. For example, Sai had told him plenty of stories about their friend Haku. Haku was the only patient in the hospital with a Gender Identity disorder; he truly believed that he was a girl.

 

Sai had told Naruto that Sai had never known his parents, and he'd been traded between many foster homes for the majority of his life. Some of the families he'd lived with hadn't been the best, or the safest. Naruto was told that in one of the homes, Sai had been raped, repeatedly, from the time when he was seven, until he was ten. From that point on, he'd honestly believed that he was a girl. He'd been at the hospital for three years now, and there hadn't been a change in his belief. He still thought that he was a female, and there was nothing that anyone could tell him to make him think otherwise. But again, Naruto couldn't be sure if what Sai had told him was the truth; this was the downside of having a pathological liar for a friend.

 

Once, Naruto had questioned Sai about Hinata, since the boy had seemed to know everything about everybody. But, on that certain occasion, Sai hadn't had an answer for the boy. All he'd been able to tell Naruto, was that Hinata hadn't always been mute. It was a mystery why the girl became this way, and the only people who knew the truth were Neji and Hinata herself. Since Hinata would never speak, the doctors probably relied on Neji to tell them the truth. But every time someone brought up the subject, Neji would flip out on them, and would have to be sedated. If anyone ever tried to ask Hinata about it, she would just shy away, let her hair fall in front of her face, and hide from everyone. Sometimes she'd cry, sometimes not.

 

Most patients in the hospital were a mystery; they all had their secret reasons for being here. Some of them were born with their disorders, and some had been traumatized somewhere in their lifetimes. Naruto didn't think that there would ever be a time when he would know everything about everyone. They were exceptionally good at keeping their own secrets.

 

Suddenly, Naruto's entire body tensed, as he released a long, tired sigh. He rubbed his eyes lightly, and then laid his head down on his folded arms once more. Finally, he'd become sleepy. He glanced around the dark room, and then down the hallway that led the way to his room. Inside his mind, the boy decided that the walk was too long, and by the time this was decided, Naruto was already falling asleep.

 

He felt his mind drifting away, and his body relaxed until he couldn't feel anymore. In his sleep he didn't dream, or rather, he didn't remember dreaming. The only thing he remembered during his brief slumber, were voices. There had been lots of voices, talking all around him. None of them had been speaking directly to him, though.

 

The moment that Naruto woke up, he felt like he hadn't truly been asleep at all. He shook the hazy feeling from his mind, and then opened his eyes and was surprised by the room full of people who had obviously not paying attention to the fact that he'd been sleeping. Well, all but one.

 

"G'morning Sunshine." They said. Naruto turned and glanced up at the person he'd already expected to see; Sai.

 

The boy yawned. "...what time is it?" he asked, his voice was rough, and it was obvious that he'd been sleeping for quite some time.

 

"Around eleven." Sai told him. "You were asleep when everyone came in around seven. I must say, you're very adorable when you sleep. And you talk, too." Naruto gasped aloud, right before his face turned tomato red. He shook his head and buried his head in his arms as Sai started to laugh at his behavior. "Don't worry; I'm the only one who heard you."

 

"Oh God...what did I say?" Naruto questioned.

 

He watched as a smirk slid across Sai's face, and he didn't like that at all. "Well, to be honest, you said Sasuke's name...two, three times." As soon as those words left Sai's mouth, Naruto groaned aloud and resisted the urge to smack himself across the face. He simply hated the fact that he talked in his sleep; it was embarrassing. There had been too many incidents where his sleep talking had gotten him into too much trouble.

 

"So, you like him, hm?" Sai teased, as he crossed one leg over the other and leaned towards Naruto with a taunting smile on his face. The blonde refused to blush anymore, and he turned his head away arrogantly.

 

"I never said that." He argued.

 

Sai shook his head, still smiling. "You didn't have to; it's written all over your face. And besides, you said his name in your sleep three times; that's not normal." He said. Naruto rolled his eyes and then sat back against the couch with a sigh.

 

He glanced over at Sai "Can we change the subject?"

 

"...not a chance."

 

"You're impossible."

 

"So I've been told."

 

Naruto stood up from the couch, and he stuck his tongue out at Sai, who only laughed and copied his gesture. The boy left the tv room, eager to get away from Sai and all his questions. In truth, Naruto wasn't sure exactly what it was that he was feeling for Sasuke. Whatever it was that had transpired between them had been so quick, that when Naruto thought about it he became mentally and emotionally confused. The boy knew for a fact that he liked Sasuke, and had the hugest crush on him, no matter how childish that may've sounded.

 

Upon arriving at his room, Naruto grabbed some clothes, and the key to the private bathroom. He figured that he should get dressed, since he was probably the only person still in their pajamas. Also, a nice hot shower would be sure to fully wake him up, and help him shake off his feeling of drowsiness.

 

After his shower, getting dressed didn't take very long. By the time he was dressed, it was nearly noon. Naruto realized that he'd missed breakfast this morning, but he wasn't hungry at all, so it really didn't matter. He left his room, and headed back to the tv room. Naruto saw that about everyone was here, save for Sasuke and Kiba. Sasuke was almost never in the tv room; he must've preferred to keep to himself. But Kiba, on the other hand, was always here. Whether he was playing chess with Shikamaru, or watching television, he was always there.

 

When Naruto walked into the large room, he went over to Shikamaru who was playing a board game with Neji. "Hey...where's Kiba?" he asked. Shikamaru looked up at him with a bored expression on his face.

 

"Didn't you hear?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Naruto was confused, and he shook his head. Had there been something he was supposed to hear about? "Kiba's over in the intensive care unit. He had a pretty bad seizure earlier this morning."

 

"Seizure?? Why would Kiba have a seizure?" the blonde asked.

 

Shikamaru sighed, as if he was too tired or bored to explain anything to the boy. "Kiba is epileptic." He told Naruto, and then, without another word, he turned back to the game he'd been playing with Neji, and it was as if he'd forgotten that Naruto was there. The blond took a step back, and then exhaled. He was calmer than he'd been when Shikamaru had been talking to him.

 

The boy hadn't had any idea that Kiba was epileptic. He'd thought that the tourrets had been all that was wrong with Kiba, but, obviously he'd been wrong. In this moment, Naruto realized that there was just so much that he didn't know about these people that he was ready to call his friends. He started feeling as if he were an outcast; everyone here seemed to know so much more than he. Naruto knew that there was no point to feel this way, when he'd only been here for a month, and most of them had been here for years; of course they'd know more than he did.

 

"Don't look so worried." Neji said, as he looked up from the game board, and stared at Naruto with those eyes that just seemed to see right through him. "Kiba is fine. Things like that always happen. It's normal."

 

Was that really their idea of normal? Naruto couldn't wrap his mind around that. He nodded to Neji, and then walked out of the tv room. He now had every intention of going to ask Shizune whether or not it would be alright for him to go and talk to Kiba. He wanted to make sure that his friend was alright, even though Neji had already confirmed it. Neji wasn't Kiba; he couldn't say whether or not the boy was alright.

 

He went over towards Shizune's small office, and knocked on the door. The young woman opened the door with haste, and smiled when she saw Naruto standing there. "Can I help you, Uzumaki-kun?" she asked.

 

"Uh, yeah." He started. "I was wondering if it'd be alright if I went to go visit Kiba. I heard something bad happened to him this morning...and I just wanted to check on him, you know?" the boy said to her. Shizune nodded to him and stepped back into her office to grab her clipboard and an envelope that was sitting on top of it.

 

"That's just fine. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you." She said, still smiling. Then, Shizune took the envelope she'd grabbed, and handed it to Naruto. "This came for you in the mail." She told him. "You can go visit Kiba right now, if that's fine with you."

 

"Yeah." Naruto replied. Shizune closed and locked the door to her office, and then she began walking. Naruto followed behind her closely, and he tucked the mail in his back pocket, he'd read it later on today, after he'd talked to Kiba.

 

The intensive care unit was on the entire other side of the building. It was close to the hall that connected the unit Naruto was in, Unit three, and the unit with all of the patients who were not free to roam around the way Naruto and his unit did, it was Unit one. The patients in that unit were too dangerous to be let loose like that. Of course, Sai had a few stories about that place as well.

 

Once Shizune brought Naruto to Kiba's room, she told him that he should only stay for a few minutes, at most a half hour, because Kiba needed his rest. She'd informed him that the seizure that Kiba had that morning had been one of the worst he'd ever experienced, and so he needed to stay away from people, and noise, for the most part. But, Shizune trusted that Naruto wouldn't do anything that could trigger another seizure.

 

She allowed him inside the room, and Naruto wasn't surprised that it looked exactly like an actual hospital room. Kiba was there, lying in bed and reading a book. The television was unplugged, and Naruto could guess why they'd done that. Once Kiba noticed that Naruto had entered the room, he chuckled lightly and closed the book he'd been reading.

 

"Come to check up on me, eh?" he laughed. Naruto walked closer to Kiba's bed, and then chose a chair that had been sitting beside it.

 

"Yeah." He started. And then, a worried expression came over Naruto's face as he bit his bottom lip. Kiba must've noticed the blonde's change in mood, because his laughter completely died away. "...hey man, are you alright? I mean...I had no idea that you were, you know, epileptic." He told him.

 

Kiba waved his hand at Naruto. "I'm fine, r-really. I'm used to it by now; it's been like this m-my whole life." He told the boy. "This one was pretty bad though, if you can't already t-tell." The brunet said, as he pointed to his head. This was when Naruto noticed that there was bandaging wrapped all the way around Kiba's head. He could tell that there was a large wound on the boy's forehead, because the blood was beginning to show through the bandage. Kiba laughed when he saw Naruto's shocked expression. "I fell into a table...it's not like I've never h-hurt myself before."

 

"Dude, how can you just laugh about this like it's nothing?" Naruto asked, still stunned. "You've got a huge gash in your head and you're laughing."

 

Kiba only shrugged his shoulders. "What's the point in being sad? Or upset?" he said to Naruto. "There isn't a point. I've been d-dealing with all of this since I was younger, and I've a-always laughed. I mean, I believe, that if I k-keep laughing about it, people won't worry as much, and I won't have to be upset about it s-so much."

 

Naruto sat in the chair, still unconvinced, and he sighed. "Well you can forget about trying to get me not to worry. It's not possible." He stated. At that comment, Kiba only smiled and shook his head at his friend.

 

"Thanks for the concern dude, b-but really, I'm fine." He said, reassuringly. "You know, you're one of the only people who even b-bothered to come over here. Everyone else expects for me to be back the next day, like n-nothing happened, you know?"

 

"Oh...yeah. Sorry if I'm bothering you by coming here-"

 

"-don't apologize, I don't mind."

 

Naruto nodded, and then sighed heavily as he sat back into the seat. He was relieved to know that Kiba was alright. If he said he was okay, then Naruto would believe him without question. Though, that didn't mean that he wouldn't worry. His friend had a huge gash in his forehead; who wouldn't worry about that?

 

"So...you and Sasuke, eh?" Naruto heard Kiba ask.

 

On that note, Naruto fought back the urge to blush, and cry out in frustration. He knew that he'd have to yell at Sai for this later. "Uh...not really...I dunno...I'm not sure." He babbled. The blonde sighed and dragged his hand over his face. "Nothing happened...but, I mean..."

 

"It's sort of obvious th-that you like him." Kiba started, as he grinned toothily. "And he likes you t-too. I've never seen him s-so social since I've been here, well, not since Itachi left."

 

Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously. "Itachi, who's that?" he asked.

 

"Oh...I guess no one t-told you. Itachi is Sasuke's brother. He left about a y-year ago, and ever since he left, Sasuke got r-really antisocial, and depressed." The brunet told him. "It's only since you came that he started t-talking again. That's how everybody knows th-that he likes you."

 

The blonde only nodded his head as he took in all of this new information. He'd known that Sasuke had a brother, because the raven had told him that himself. But, Naruto hadn't had any idea that Sasuke brother had been here.

 

"Be careful with him, Naruto." The boy glanced up, at the sound of Kiba speaking. He had a serious expression on his face, and Naruto realized that the mood in the room had shifted once again. "Sasuke was j-just instated into our unit again. He used to be in Unit one...but he'd c-calmed down, and they allowed him back here." Kiba sighed, but continued. "I'm only telling you this because you're my f-friend, and I don't want anything bad to h-happen to you. Sasuke is dangerous...just...be careful."

 

As if on cue, the door to Kiba's room came open, and Shizune was standing there. She told Naruto that it was time for him to leave, because Kiba needed to rest. The two boys bid their farewells, and then Naruto left the room. In his mind, he ran through his entire conversation with Kiba; he didn't think he'd ever forget Kiba's last sentence.

 

Naruto walked with Shizune back to his Unit, and on the way, he pulled the letter from his back pocket. Once they were back in his unit, Naruto was already tearing open the envelope, and reading the short letter. His eyes flew across the paper at a fast pace, and basically, what the letter had told him was that his court date was approaching, and soon. The boy was a bit nervous, but then again, he knew that he'd been doing nothing but good here, so he didn't have anything to worry about.

 

He folded the letter, put it in his pocket, and tossed the envelope it'd been mailed inside. He figured he'd call Ibiki later, to talk about the court date, and what they expected of him that day. To be honest, Naruto absolutely detested court rooms. He'd been in them too many times to count, and they were never a place where anyone could find happiness. Naruto remembered that all the bad times in his life were handled in a court room and that only fueled his hatred for them.

 

With a sigh, Naruto began walking towards the tv room. He now had it in his right mind to go and give Sai a piece of his mind. He knew for a fact that Sai had blabbed to Kiba about how Naruto had said Sasuke's name in his sleep. The boy prayed to God that Sai hadn't told anyone else...especially Sasuke.

 

All of a sudden, the blond heard someone call his name out. "Naruto."

 

...well, speak of the devil.

 

The boy turned around, and saw Sasuke standing in the hallway behind him. The raven had a smirk on his face, and Naruto couldn't figure out what it was for. Sasuke had no idea how much he confused poor Naruto. "...hey." the boy said, as Sasuke made his way towards him. As he got closer, Naruto could feel his throat getting dry, and his heart even beat faster. He was nervous, very nervous. There was just something about Sasuke that made him feel edgy.

 

Sasuke came straight over to Naruto, and he took the boy's hand in his. Naruto's breath hitched in his throat, and then he couldn't breathe. Sasuke only continued to smirk. "Come with me. I want to talk with you." He stated. Naruto nodded.

 

"...okay." he breathed. And Naruto went with him, without any protests in the least. He was finding out that it was nearly impossible to say no to Sasuke. There was just something in his eyes, some form of power, which. Naruto just couldn't say no to. He felt like he was under some sort of spell...there had to be some type of magic present, to make him agree with every single thing this boy said to him.

 

Naruto had no idea what Sasuke wanted to talk about, or, if he actually wanted to talk at all. But he followed him anyway...he couldn't help himself.

 

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Peace & Love: DizziKatz