Konoha Times {OC x Various} Naruto AU

Chapter 46

Izuna didn't think before he started to speak again, "Nami, Madara was the one who was driving that night."

"Then why did you go away?"

"I took the fall for it. Madara had been working so hard for years. He was making our parent's dream come true. Up until that night, I had been so crazy and irresponsible, it just fit that I would be the one who would do something so – horrible. I switched places with Madara. The first officer on the scene was a friend of ours. And the Senju's were next. You know the rest."

"Why did you go away?"

"It was a journey of self-discovery. I didn't need rehab after seeing what happened with Madara."

"I have to go."

"Nami, you shouldn't go anywhere. Not like this."

"I wanna go home, to my apartment."

Nami made her way downstairs to the lobby. Her teeth now grinding and chattering from the effects of what Izuna gave her hours ago. She got onto a city bus that took her halfway to the East End. She decided to walk the rest of the way. It was three in the morning as she made her way to her studio. I'm dating a murderer.

~~~

The month went by slowly. Nami was consumed by rage and wedding planning. No matter what was happening, Nami didn't want to let her best friend down.

When she wasn't planning, she was unavailable to the rest of the world. She had raided Madara's medicine cabinet and running low. Her desk looked like the workings of a madman, papers were strewn everywhere and notes were scribbled on any surface containing paper.

Tobirama had frequently called the second phone Nami had bought. She never answered but couldn't bring herself to block the number either. Not that it would have deterred the Senju anyway. Itachi and Izuna attempted to visit her but she would always cancel their plans at the last minute. The only texts and calls she answered were from Madara and Iruka. These were the people who were the closest that she had to fool into believing everything was fine.

~~~

Today was the day Madara would be returning. Over the past month, she frequently replayed the recording that she had from the night Izuna revealed Madara's truth. With each listen, she felt more and more disconnected from herself. Nami looked at her reflection in the mirror for the first time in a month. What she saw was grotesque. Her cheeks were sunken and her muscles had lost their contour. Her reflection made her finally feel – weak and sickly. It was all too much to handle again. She began to shake from the anxiety that his impending arrival caused. Once again her solution was the last of the supply she got from Madara's medicine cabinet.

~~~

As she walked out of her studio to head to the Uchiha suites, Nami ran into Hidan. She tried to hide with no luck.

"Nami? I didn't know you still lived here. Holy shit – you don't look too good."

"Hello to you too, Hidan."

"Nami, are you okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

Nami tried to answer before she started to seize. She fell, hitting her head on the wall, and went unconscious.

Hidan yelled for Kakuzu who helped Hidan get her to the hospital. Nami's cell phone began to ring several times in a row. As Kakuzu carried Nami inside the ER, Hidan answered the phone that flashed Madara.

"Holy fucking shit, you really need to call eighty times in a row dude? Damn!"

"Where is my girlfriend?"

"In the fucking hospital."

"What the hell did you do to her?"

"Probably saved her fucking life, you're welcome douche."

Hidan ended the call and shook his head. What was her brother's name? That is who he figured he should actually call. Iruka! Hidan called Iruka from Nami's phone and sat in the waiting room for him to arrive.