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Chapter Text

The rain was relentless and he was drenched. His feet made a slurping sound with each step. He could feel the cold, wet wind on his face and his skin was numb from the rain. He trudged on, the rain pouring down on him. His clothes clung to his body and he could feel his heart racing. He kept walking, one step at a time. 

He felt pain with each step he took, and moving forward was exhausting, but he had no choice but to move. If he stayed still, he'd be easy prey for those who wanted to harm him. He trudged on, knowing that he had to keep going if he wanted to survive. He was afraid, but he was determined to keep going. He had no other choice.

3 month earlier

For a few months, he had lived in a house run by a local gang. Naruto had met one of their members by chance in a park. The young man, who was not much older than Naruto, had offered to live with him and his gang.  

Naruto had hesitated for a moment, but winter had already arrived and he didn't want to freeze to death. So he had accepted this generous offer...and quickly regretted it.

The gang was a strange mix of people, but the 'leader' demanded they steal things to pay rent. Naruto had refused, not wanting to stoop to stealing other people's property, but Hidan - the leader - had broken his nose for daring to refuse.  

All winter long, Naruto had to obey every order Hidan had issued, and he hated every minute he spent in that house. Unfortunately, he soon realized he couldn't leave.

Not only did Hidan forbid it, but Naruto once again had a roof over his head, meals more or less regularly, and a circle of "friends" with whom he could chat. He was no longer alone and isolated. He had a sense of belonging he had never really felt before and he was sure he did not want to be alone again. 

However, with the return of warmer weather and Hidan's increasing violence, Naruto began to think more and more about escaping from this circle. What finally made him take the plunge was the sight of Hidan beating one of the other young men living with them almost to death. Naruto realized that he had to get away and escape Hidan's wrath.

Naruto never knew what had angered the boss, but this sneak attack had been too much. That evening, he waited until Hidan was completely under the influence of the drug and the others were sleeping before silently leaving the house.

He should have realized he couldn't disappear like this.   

For several weeks, Naruto had been hiding during the day and secretly changing his location at night to avoid attracting attention. Unfortunately, one evening, as he was passing through a small wooded area on his way south from downtown, he came face to face with Hidan and three of his henchmen.  

And the young man was savagely beaten by the three men. He was certain at that moment that he was going to die in that filthy little undergrowth. After what seemed like an eternity, he lost consciousness and welcomed darkness.

When Naruto opened his eyes again, or at least tried to, he realized how badly he was hurt. He could hardly breathe, his whole body ached, and when he touched his face, blood covered it. He had to lie on the hard undergrowth for a long time, unable to move.  

It wasn't until after the sun had set that he could finally move.

Flashback end

And even today, a few months later, he was still in pain. Naruto had to walk, always walk, and with every step, he felt pain. On top of that, he'd hardly eaten anything for a week. All he had left was a little water in a bottle he'd found. 

He avoided crossing paths with his image in the huge shop windows that followed him with cold detachment.

He hated the image he projected to the outside world. Naruto was dirty - it had been at least a month since his last shower - his hair was dirty and his clothes weren't just falling apart, they stunk. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He knew that if he tried to talk to anyone, they would look at him with disgust. So he had decided to keep to himself and away from everyone.

Never in his life had he thought of becoming a beggar, and he was ashamed. He felt powerless and alone. He felt he had lost control of his life and didn't know what to do next.

Normally he would have gone to the shelter, but it had been full for two weeks. And considering his young age, the people in charge preferred to give young families and elderly people a chance. Naruto couldn't blame them. He was all alone in the world, with no family or friends to turn to. He was on his own and needed to find a place to sleep for the night. 

The only people who wanted to hire him all ended up abusing him financially. They would make him work long hours and then fire him for one reason or another without paying him. He became desperate and frustrated. He felt he had no choice but to keep looking for work, even though he was sure he'd be taken advantage of again. He was caught in a cycle of exploitation and despair. 

Lousy jobs that barely allowed him to survive and not starve, but not enough to afford a place to live. He'd had enough of this life and often wondered what he'd done to deserve this kind of hell. He felt lost and powerless, with nowhere to go and no way out.  

He didn't want to live like this anymore. He didn't have the strength to go on. So he raised his face to the sky, the rain mingled with his tears that no one could see, and lifted a foot to cross the street. Traffic was heavy and fast, and the rain reduced the drivers' visibility.

Naruto closed his eyes as he crossed the street. He didn't need to see where he was heading. He just had to move forward. 

Despite his closed eyes, his eyelids were illuminated by the powerful headlights of a car speeding towards him. A car horn ripped through the night and Naruto felt a sharp pain in his legs. He felt his body being propelled through the air and he finally sank into darkness. 

Sitting in his office half-light, he finished reading his latest patient's chart. He yawned as he stretched his entire body; it had been a hard day and he was exhausted.

November was always a tough month for general practice. Flu, ear infections, and gastroenteritis were common, and his schedule was overflowing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. He needed to take a break and clear his head before tackling the next day.

Sasuke stood up before glancing outside with a sigh. It was still raining and had been since morning. The wind was blowing so hard that the branches of the trees around the clinic were all leaning in the same direction. Sasuke felt a chill running down his spine. He knew that the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

The young doctor concluded that it must be cold and walked to the wardrobe to put on his coat and get his umbrella. Sasuke took one last look at his office to make sure everything was in order before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.  

He opened the door to the outside and was hit by the full force of the wind and rain. In just a few seconds, he was soaked. Sasuke didn't bother to open his umbrella, the wind was too strong. Instead, he unlocked his car from a distance and ran towards it. He threw his briefcase and umbrella into the passenger seat and closed the door.  

Sasuke turned on the ignition, music filling his car, and saw the time. It was almost 7:30 p.m. With a sigh, he pulled out of the parking lot and turned left onto the main road leading to his condo.

The rain made driving difficult and he could barely see two meters ahead of him. Sasuke could see vehicles' headlights a few meters ahead of him. He slowed down, trying to maintain a safe distance from the other cars. 

Suddenly, a silhouette appeared barely 2 meters in front of him. He hit the horn with all his might, slamming on the brakes. But it was too late.

A person's body bounced off the hood of his car before making hard contact with the windshield, which cracked from the force of the impact, and the body rolled onto the car roof before falling to the ground. 

Sasuke grabbed his cell phone to call for help before rushing out of his car to meet the person he'd just hit. All kinds of scenarios ran through his mind at breakneck speed and all he could hope for was that he hadn't killed the person. 

Rain pounded on his skull as he knelt down. He immediately placed a finger on the jugular vein of the person lying on the ground.

He quickly checked for a pulse, feeling faint with relief when he found it. He stayed on the ground, head bowed, taking in the moment of victory. The rain continued to pour, providing a calming rhythm of relief.

Sasuke focused his gaze on the person - a young man - lying on the wet, rough ground. His heart clenched. The young man seemed very young and with a quick glance, he realized he'd hit a homeless man.

The man's left leg was obviously broken as well as his right wrist. He had no idea what kind of internal trauma the victim might have suffered. Sasuke took a deep breath and got to work. He carefully examined the victim's body for any other signs of injury. When he was done, he looked up at the sky and sighed. He knew he had to act fast.

Finally, the sound of the ambulance pulled him out of his quick examination and he stood up to wait for the paramedics to arrive. As the two men approached, Sasuke put his doctor's mask back on and took control of the situation. He had just made a decision and he was going to make sure his plan worked.

"Call your dispatch and have your call canceled. State that it was a false alarm." 

The two men watched him in surprise before one of them tried to push him away to get to the wounded man. However, Sasuke grabbed his wrist.

"Hey man, get off me before I break your face."

But Sasuke didn't react to the threat and kept his gaze on the ambulance driver who still hadn't moved. 

"I will give you five hundred dollars each if you cancel the outsourcing call and bring this young man to the Uchiha clinic."

The man, who still hadn't moved, blinked for a moment before Sasuke caught a glimpse of surprise. The ambulance driver had just recognized him.  

"Akio. Call the dispatch and do as Dr. Uchiha asks."

The man named Akio looked at his partner for a moment before doing what he was told. Meanwhile, the first man walked to the back of the ambulance and took out the stretcher before rolling it to the wounded man.  

With an efficiency that showed years of hard work, the paramedic immobilized the injured man. He placed an oxygen mask over his face before placing a monitor on the index finger of the uninjured hand. This was to monitor his heart rate.

Akio returned at this point, and the two men gently slid the victim onto the stretcher before rolling him into the ambulance.

"Follow me." 

Sasuke demanded before he returned to his still running car. He'd left the door open and the seats were completely soaked. He grimaced as he took his place on the wet seat and did a U-turn to head back to the clinic.

The doctor glanced in his rearview mirror to make sure the ambulance was following him. 

Drops of water slipped through the cracks in his windshield, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. It took him longer than he would have liked to get back to the clinic, but he could barely see through the damaged windshield. He drove slowly, carefully navigating the road. He was determined to get to the clinic, despite the difficulty. He drove, grimacing at the droplets of water that splashed across his face.

When they finally arrived, Sasuke ran to the door and unlocked it before motioning for the paramedics to bring the wounded man inside. He then escorted them to his clinic and consulting room.

All Sasuke could hope for was that the man had no internal injuries.  

The paramedics placed the injured man on the small bed in the room before returning to Sasuke. The doctor took out his wallet before handing over the promised money and they left the clinic without a word.

Sasuke turned his full attention back to his victim and immediately set about treating him as quickly as possible.  

But then he realized he couldn't do it all by himself. He needed help. So he did something he never thought he'd have to do: he called Tenten for help.

The young woman was one of two nurses working for him, and the only one he trusted. 

After three rings, she answered.

"Tenten, I need your help. I'm at the clinic."

The young woman didn't hesitate for a moment.

"I'm on my way." 

Sasuke hung up before walking over to the still-unconscious patient. He had no idea how much damage he had done to this young man. Sasuke promised himself to do everything in his power to nurse him back to health.