Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I am making NO profit.
Back with a new fic instead of finishing the other one. For shame.
Warnings: Sad first chapter, humor and a ton of sarcasm later. Hopefully, I can make it funny for you. Course language and innuendos later. I will post warnings appropriately for each chapter.
I have made a play list for this, and the name of the chapter will coincide with the song that set the theme for that certain chapter. In no way am I saying you have to listen to the songs, or that you need to for any reason. The songs will be extremely varied, going from Nicki Minaj to Evanescence, from Puddle of Mudd to J-pop. The song that sets the theme for the whole story and shares the title is Breakout by the Foo Fighters.
I will name the song at the beginning of each chapter, as shown below.
Chapter 1: Moment 4 Life (by Nicki Minaj)
Naruto was at it again, it seemed.
Naruto had only been in his new class at the ninja academy for two weeks, and already the Hokage had a meeting about his behavior. Since Naruto had been orphaned at birth, he had no one to care for him, and since it was obvious no one was going to adopt him, even though he'd be a genin (hopefully) in less than a year and be considered an adult by Konoha law, the Hokage had taken it upon himself to be Naruto's guardian.
Which meant that whenever someone had a complaint about Naruto, Sarutobi got to be the gracious soul forced to hear the rants against the little troublemaker.
It was rare though, for anyone under ANBU level to actually file a formal complaint, and even rarer for a civilian to even consider approaching Sarutobi with words against Naruto.
It was good to be Hokage.
Today was a rare day indeed as Sarutobi watched Naruto being drug in by his new chunin instructor. Apparently, the rumors about one Iruka Umino were correct. The normally gentle, reserved, and always respectful Iruka had balls.
The Hokage waited patiently for the meeting to begin while Iruka tried in vain to subdue a jittery Naruto.
After a few moments of shouting at each other, Naruto finally sat down and Iruka began.
"Lord Hokage, please excuse our interruption, but I really must speak with you about Naruto."
'And the cycle continues.' Sarutobi thought. The Hokage figured he might as well make himself comfortable. It usually took awhile before the complaining ninja got it all out of his, or her, system. They would usually be just as respectful as always, then, the rant would escalate as they bitched and whined about every one of Naruto's flaws and discrepancies. It was getting to be annoying. Hasn't anyone ever heard of paperwork?
Not that Sarutobi liked the endless piles of reports, that wasn't the point. The point was that it needed to be done, and he really had a lot today. Time to cut this short.
"Of course, Iruka. But I must say, I've heard pretty much all I can about Naruto. I know his grades aren't what they should be, and that he has a bad habit of pulling pranks. I also know that he doesn't show proper respect for his superiors. I have tried everything I could think of to help him, but I am the Hokage and don't have a lot of free time on my hands."
Naruto had slowly started shrinking in on himself with every word the old man said and the Hokage felt bad, but it was the truth. Naruto was a very troubled child, and Sarutobi wished he could help. God knows Naruto deserved to be happy. Iruka wasn't done though, and spoke up once more.
"Yes, Lord Hokage, Naruto is a bit of a troublemaker, but, with all due respect…"
Oh, great. Sarutobi tried not to roll his eyes. 'Why is it that every time someone says "with all due respect" they end up saying something completely disrespectful?'
Thankfully, Iruka was oblivious to the Hokage's inner turmoil and continued.
"Maybe, well… maybe Naruto should be looked at by a medical professional."
Huh. That was new.
Sarutobi had heard quite a few "suggestions" concerning Naruto's behavioral problems, and "go to the doctor" was a new one. It definitely was the best he'd heard so far.
Suddenly, the Hokage stood from behind his desk with a smile, successfully scaring the crap out of the two visitors.
"Lord Hokage?" Iruka begin hesitantly, but he was cut off.
"It's lucky that I just happen to be free this afternoon, Iruka." Sarutobi would actually have to just skip today's work and make up for it later, but no one needed to know that. "Well, let's go."
The old man was halfway out of the office by the time Iruka realized he and Naruto should be following their leader to the hospital.
By the time Naruto figured out where he was being taken, it was too late and his screams of protest and outrage were ignored as he had just been shoved into a strange room with even stranger people.
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Iruka sat in an uncomfortable silence with the Hokage. They were both stationed right outside the door Naruto had been drug into kicking and screaming over half an hour ago.
Really, that boy seemed to just be an ungrateful brat at first glance, but Iruka's heart went out to him anyway. Iruka thought that Naruto may just be acting out in order to get attention, and after hearing the Hokage's tale about Naruto's lonely life made Iruka that much more empathetic.
As the Hokage spoke about Naruto with affection, concern and even a little regret, Iruka thought about his own past and decided he would help any way he could. Maybe Naruto really would benefit from the same psychological healing that Iruka himself had gone through in his childhood? Iruka had been forced to have sessions with a Yamanaka when he was young, and he was grateful for it now. He had gone from being an attention-seeking prankster, just like Naruto, to the functioning, happy ninja he was today.
It sure was taking a long time for the medics to clear Naruto's physical health, though.
Finally the door opened and the Hokage stood, Iruka doing the same. They both noticed the look on the doctor's face and it sent Sarutobi's stomach to his throat.
"Well?" What's wrong with Naruto? Sarutobi had to know. Now.
"Lord Hokage, it's a good thing you brought Uzumaki in today. We found something that needs to be dealt with immediately."
That did not sound promising. Iruka was very worried now, and the Hokage did not look pleased in the slightest.
The medic decided that being blunt would be safest in this situation. The Hokage did not look like he wanted to wait.
"Lord Hokage, let me just say first that this is something that can easily be rectified, and we are already prepping Naruto for the jutsu that you will have to give us permission to perform."
The doctor then handed the village leader a clipboard with a sheet to be signed. Sarutobi decided to hear the full story before he even thought of allowing anything to be done to Naruto. He prompted the medic to continue.
"We believe that, when Uzumaki was young, perhaps even an infant, that he must have struck his head on something. He has a depressed skull fracture that has been hidden from view by his hair."
Iruka's gasp made the medic stop and notice the chunin for the first time. The man with the scar across his face must be really worried, as his eyes were almost comically wide, and he had covered his mouth with his hands after his outburst. How someone could be so concerned over the Kyuubi vessel was beyond reason for the doctor, but then again, the Hokage looked ready to murder a small village. The doctor decided self-preservation was in order and continued his diagnosis.
"I found no evidence of Uzumaki ever having epidural bleeding, and there is no severe brain damage."
Sarutobi released the breath he'd been holding. This was good, Naruto was ok. He wasn't damaged for good, which was rare, but good. Very lucky.
"So, there's no brain damage then?" Iruka asked.
"There was no severe brain damage, but there is damage, and therein lies the problem. Because of the fracture, a small portion of Uzumaki's brain was damaged, and now he's suffering from status epilepticus. That means that Uzumaki's brain, or just that small part that was damaged, has been in constant seizure. The damaged tissue was trying to protect itself from any further damage, and to do that it had to stop working altogether. To shut itself off it went into a terminal series of petit mal seizures. These are also called "absence" seizures because they only last fifteen to twenty seconds at a time, though his were constant. This is the reason for his symptoms you've both noticed."
This was too much for Iruka, who finally collapsed back down in his seat. Poor Naruto. He'd had this horrible condition for his entire life, and it was only just now found? Iruka couldn't even imagine, didn't want to imagine, what it was like. Here he thought that Naruto had needed counseling. He had to speak up.
"So, the hyperactivity, the behavioral problems, his lack of concentration, all of it was caused from this?" Iruka asked, fearing the answer for his own heart's sake.
The Hokage feared the answer was yes as well. He'd known Naruto longer, been closer to him than anybody, yet he never once thought something was really wrong.
"Yes," the medic said, making Sarutobi's heart clench. "Uzumaki's symptoms, which I first assumed were ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are all from the seizures. That is why I need you to sign the release form, Lord Hokage." He indicated the paper Sarutobi was holding as he spoke. It hung in the old man's hand, forgotten.
"Thanks to the Sannin Tsunade's advancement of medical ninjutsu, we can perform one jutsu and restore Uzumaki's damaged brain. It can't reverse the damage already there, but it will stop the seizures and he will have a fully functioning brain."
As the Hokage read and signed the form, Iruka's mind wondered until a question presented itself.
"What about the fracture?"
The doctor looked as though he'd forgotten about the original injury, as did the Hokage.
"Oh, the fracture is healed completely." The doctor looked contemplative for a moment, then added; "It seems as though it healed itself in a relatively quick time after the fracture was made."
'The Kyuubi,' Sarutobi thought. 'But why didn't the fox heal Naruto's brain along with the skull?' Oh well, a question for another day, for another medic, perhaps.
As the Hokage gave the go ahead to let Naruto have the jutsu done, he sat down and sighed, suddenly feeling older than he ever had before. Sarutobi had seen so much pain, so much death, but this was different. This was Naruto, a child, not a ninja, and this was not a battlefield, it was his brain, the most important and sensitive area of the body. The Hokage heard a sniff next to him and he studied the little chunin. Iruka had most likely just saved Naruto's life, in more than one way. How could Sarutobi possibly thank this man for that?
"How much do you think Naruto will change?" Iruka asked, accidentally dropping the honorific of "Lord Hokage." Sarutobi felt like he was actually talking to an equal again, and he felt that camaraderie that came with the grief of losing something that was mutually important to two different people. That was how the Hokage felt in that moment. He felt like he'd lost Naruto forever. Or, at least the Naruto he knew yesterday.
"I do not know, Iruka. Naruto may not change much, or he may be a completely new person. All I know is this: that Naruto will pull through because he is a strong boy. Just remember that, Iruka. Every time you look at Naruto from now on, always remember that he always was and always will be a hero."
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The almighty fox demon smirked from within his cage. Finally, one of those stupid humans found the problem. He could tell the jutsu the humans were using was already working. The jutsu looked like it was only going to stop the strange block on his host's mind, leaving the way open for Kyuubi.
'This is good.' Kyuubi knew that his host would finally be able to think freely now that his brain was working again.
The humans would stop the block, the "seizure" as they called it, and then Kyuubi could finally stretch his chakra up into the unused area and do some repairing. His chakra had been longing for this day, always reaching out toward the brat's brain, waiting to fix the injuries.
The fox found his chakra reacting automatically to the human body, as if his host was just an extension of himself, and not a separate being. It was an odd experience for the demon, feeling his chakra yearning day in and day out to heal the human as soon as it was hurt.
This was a good thing, though. Kyuubi didn't even have to make sure his host was safe. His demonic chakra was protecting the human on it's own, without having to be manipulated. Kyuubi's chakra kept Naruto safe, in turn, keeping Kyuubi safe. For now.
The fox could tell the brain damage had already been erased by his chakra's healing ability, even before the humans outside had finished their jutsu. His host would succeed now, and so would Kyuubi. Finally, after all these years of being imprisoned, Kyuubi could began planning in earnest. He would be free, and Naruto was his key.
Ok, a few words. While I plan to make this a humor story, this chapter was really heavy because status epilepticus is a very real, very life-threatening condition. This story is about Naruto overcoming this condition. Not many people who experience seizures in their brain live through it. But when they do, it says a lot about the strength of the human body. And that's what I kinda want to say with this story. Humans aren't so breakable and pathetic after all, because humans are awesome. Sometimes. Hopefully, I can lighten it up after this.
P.S. I am talking about humans as if I weren't one myself, so apparently I'm an alien.