A Subtle Shift

2| The Gift

They took a more secluded path through the village, which Naruto appreciated, but he knew Sasuke only did it to avoid alarming anyone with all the blood. Naruto may have accidentally left a trail from all the time he'd cough it up, but Sasuke claimed he would clean it up later.

Naruto knew where they were going from all the times he'd watch people walk up and down these paths, even if he's never really seen it up close or in person.

They were headed toward a library, a small one that was never busy, which was a relief. The quicker and more discreetly he could be healed, the better.

Sasuke helped Naruto up to the front doors of the library, using his foot to kick it open. He scuffled Naruto in.

"Sorry about that," Sasuke apologized to the lady behind the front desk, who seemed startled at the sudden noise. Her eyes were wide as she inspected the bloodied boy against Sasuke, who grimaced in pain and was practically seeing stars from blood loss. "Sakura said she'd be here studying new jutsu. Do you know what section she's at?"

The lady very slowly raised her right hand to the left. "S-section e-eight."

"Thank you," Sasuke said, casting her an innocent and apologetic smile, completely disregarding the fact that a person was basically bleeding to death beside him.

They did find Sakura in section eight. She was sitting at a table, frowning down at a large book opened in front of her as she scribbled down notes. Her pink choppy hair fell to her shoulders, and she wore a pink crop top and a skirt that fell down to her ankles. She was angrily muttering to herself as she tore out a page of her notebook and crumbled it into a firm ball before tossing it to the side, surprisingly making it into a trash can that was perched against one of the bookshelves.

"Sakura," Sasuke said calmly, catching her attention in an instant. Her face lit up and fell so immediately that Naruto would have laughed had he not been bleeding out right before their very eyes.

"Who—" She stopped, short of words. She tried again. "Why—how..."

"He needs help," Sasuke summarized (as if that wasn't the most obvious thing ever), his expression rather bored. He loosened his grip on Naruto. "He doesn't want to go to a hospital so I figured you wouldn't mind."

Naruto coughed up more blood onto the ground, earning himself a glare from Sasuke.

"You're leaving more of a mess for me to clean up, you moron," he snapped. Sakura pulled up a chair quickly and Sasuke slid Naruto in it, who landed pretty roughly with a grunt.

"This was your idea, remember that," Naruto retorted hoarsely. "You were so intent on helping me, so deal with it."

"What happened to you?" Sakura asked, circling around to inspect his wounds closer. "A hole piercing the diaphragm? No wonder you're coughing up blood."

"A man apparently wants him captured," Sasuke explained as he crossed his arms. "For what reason is what I'd like to know, wouldn't you say, Naruto?"

Sakura lifted her gaze to look at him. "Naruto, huh? Sounds... weirdly familiar."

"I don't know why he wants me," Naruto spat out, but he had a pretty fair idea. "I'm just as confused as you are, trust me."