Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to Daystar Clarion

This is the sequel to Silence of the Damned, which I promised more than a year ago and had yet to deliver. Sadly, this is the third version, where I spent much time mulling over which way the story would go. I finally chose this one, and will have to toss the other two. Ridiculous.

Uzumaki's War

Chapter One

He woke with such a start that his body gave an actual jerk, and he blinked as the bright light in the room began to fade, and images became clear. He was staring at the ceiling. He blinked again, and his eyes burned, watered; he lifted a hand to rub them, and noticed the tubes buried into the back of that hand. Startling. He lifted his other hand, but it was clean of tubes, and he rubbed his burning eyes with that one. Then he rubbed his face, and came across more tubes, following them up to his nose- he swallowed a dry throat, felt them in the back.

Unnatural.

Frantically he pulled the tubes from nose and throat, coughing all the while until he was free of them. He shook his head and roughly rubbed his face before looking around. Next to his bed where he lay were a series of machines that beeped methodically and made waves. The room itself had two chairs, one on each side, a dresser with a vase full of flowers sitting comfortably on it. He sat up in the bed, his arms working hard to push his upper body into a sitting position. By the time he was sitting, he was winded and flushed, feeling weak and slightly nauseous. Once he settled, he was able to allow his mind to wonder the important things that had hovered in the back of his mind.

Who was he again?

He frowned as he waited for a name and memories to occupy his brain, but nothing came to him. His heart began to pound, a beeping machine began to increase its sound; he looked at it and noticed a small heart shaped sign next to the increasing numbers. There was a creak, and his head turned to the door across the room. A brown haired woman entered with a clip board settled in the crook of her arm, and froze when her eyes fell upon him. He stared at her, taking in her stunned expression.

"Uzumaki-san?" she breathed, her voice sounding unsure.

Of course! He was Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. He was twelve, a genin of Team Seven- his teammates were Sakura and Sasuke, his sensei was Kakashi...How had he gotten in a hospital?

"Uzumaki-san?" He realized he hadn't responded to the nurse.

"Yeah?" or he meant to say 'yeah' but his voice cracked and broke over the word, and he sounded funny- his voice deeper. The woman exited the doorway, rushing away. He stared down at his hands- they were larger and bonier than he remembered, fingers longer. How had he gotten here? He was Naruto...A headache bloomed. He was Naruto, and he...the headache increased; he pinched his forehead in a hope to alleviate the pain. The door opened and a man entered followed by the woman from before. He moved to the machines, taking in the stats then turned to look at him with dark, intense eyes.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Chiza. You're at Konoha General Hospital. How are you feeling?"

Thirsty, Naruto thought. Hungry. Confused, very confused. "Fine," he muttered, voice cracking around the word, hair falling into his face, startling him. He quickly discovered how long it had gotten, down to his shoulders, wild, all over his face. How long had he been here? "How long have I been here?" he swallowed harshly and looked for a glass of water, spying a glass and jug sitting just beyond the flowers. With shaking hands bigger than he remembered, he gripped jug and cup, spilling it over his hands and onto the table. The nurse leaped forward and took them from his hands, quickly pouring him a glass. He swallowed a couple of gulps gratefully, feeling it rush down his esophagus before he turned to the doctor. "How long have I been here?" he repeated again.

Chiza patted his shoulders in a failed attempt of comfort. "Let's not worry about that right now, okay Naruto? First,let-"

Not worry about it? How could he not worry about it? He couldn't remember how he had gotten here, and he didn't know how long he had been here. Why shouldn't that worry him?

"Naruto," the doctor was saying, but Naruto could barely hear him over the incessant beeping of that machine-each beep was like a kunai between the eyes.

"Shut that off," he commanded, rubbing his face. "Please shut that off."

"Calm down," the woman was saying, gripping his other shoulder.

He didn't like that- he didn't know this woman, he didn't like her touching him. He slapped her hand away and turned toward the machine. He managed to hit it once before his arms were grabbed, before he was held down. "Let go of me!" he shouted, vaguely aware of more people in the room just as something cool rushed up his arm and into his chest. Suddenly the pain winked out of his head so fast it made him dizzy and what little strength he had faded, leaving him blinking at the ceiling dully.

"He was practically brain-dead," came an incredulous whisper above him.

"Yeah but, you know who he is," another replied.

Something about those words...

-----

Tsunade headed for Konoha General in a hurried gait, Shizune following behind her, eyes wide with excitement and disbelief. When they had gotten the call that Naruto had miraculously awakened, her response had been to stare stupidly. She'd been to see Naruto just last week, and he had been as limp and unresponsive as he had been for the last four years. And now he had awakened? It was too unbelievable- too much like fantasy to be real. She still didn't believe it as she and Shizune entered the hospital, didn't believe it as Dr. Chiza approached with an excite grin.

"We don't know how it happened, but one of our nurses came in and, there he was, sitting and staring at her, even talking."

Talking?! She hadn't even dared imagine that! They walked into the room, she admitted to a brief pause as she took him in. There were visible differences; his hair was everywhere when it was usually combed and neat, the eyes that had stared emptily at the ceiling were now blinking sluggishly. A hand that used to lay motionless at his side now came up to brush shakily at the hair in his face.

Her heart pounded. The answer to the question that plagued all who cared for him would soon be answered. Why had he done it? She sat at the chair on his right; Naruto still seemed focused on removing a strand of hair from his face, dilated pupils showing that he was drugged. She lifted a hand and ran it an inch above his body, taking in his vitals. Brain activity slightly slow due to the drugs, heart rate stable, lungs working at normal capacity, if slightly weaker due to lack of activity. She brushed whatever hair Naruto's drug induced mind thought was there and paused as Naruto's eyes turned to her.

"Baa-chan..." he slurred, and she quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped. She nodded, deciding it was safer not to say anything and just ran a hand through his hair, fingers getting stuck in a few tangles. He dropped his hand on his chest and continued to stare at her.

"Hey Naruto," Shizune whispered from his other side, and the blond turned his head in her direction.

"Une," he murmured, and her eyes teared up, looking up at Tsunade.

"He recognizes us," she commented. "How could lasting damage suddenly disappear? Do you think..." she drifted off into a suggestive silence.

Truthfully, Tsunade didn't care- how he had awakened and by whose power wasn't something she was going to agonize about. Naruto had returned to them. Something dropped down on her hand, and she was startled to see that it was Naruto's hand- the boy was looking at her.

"Long..?" he slurred weakly, and she leaned forward to hear him better. "long have I been here?"

Tsunade grimaced at the question- though he was clearly drugged, there was an unnatural intensity in his cerulean eyes that sent warning bells off in her head. She glanced over at Chiza, who was standing by the door, and he shook his head minutely as their eyes connected. A dangerous question then.

"For some time," she replied cautiously, and the blond shut his eyes as if her words pained him physically. "You'll be okay," she patted his hand, which he removed and let flop on the bed. His eyes opened and stared at the ceiling in the same empty way they had been for the last four years. "Naruto?" she touched his face and he flinched. He was still there.

Words stopped in a cold silence as their minds rolled over their questions. Had it been Sasuke's attempted defection that had driven Naruto to do what he had done? Her face darkened at the thought of the Uchiha. Shikamaru's team had slowed the Sound Four down but it was Hatake Kakashi that had caught the boy, who refused to listen to reason. It was however, Kakashi's timely mention of Naruto's attempt at suicide that had given the sharingan user pause- pause enough for his capture. He had seemed genuinely surprised.

Deep down she could understand what motivated Sasuke to do what he had done- it was stupid, but understandable. Orochimaru gave tempting offers, some she had had a hard time turning from. But Sasuke's reaction to the news of Naruto proved that he hadn't had much to do with the blond's actions, had claimed that he hadn't even seen Naruto prior to his attempt to leave. Besides, Naruto's actions were uncharacteristic- if he had known that Sasuke was leaving, he would have done everything in his power to stop him.

So what had it been?

Kyuubi? It was their only conclusion. It was no mystery that the life of a jinchuuriki was a hard, unfair one, but Naruto had borne it with a grace that many others had lacked. Naruto had a vigor for life that had inspired all who knew him- except...those last few weeks. Something had happened. But what?

It was a full year before Sasuke had been allowed back as a Konoha ninja, the council's decision, and it was another six months more before Sasuke paid a visit to Naruto. Sakura had told her it had been a quiet affair, Sasuke had stared at Naruto, hands stuffed in his pockets; Naruto had stared at the ceiling, unaware of his friend as he was of everyone.

"Would you like to see your Team? Kakashi? Sakura?" Naruto's mouth opened. "Sasuke?" Naruto's brow furrowed, and his mouth closed, eyes never moving from the ceiling. Of course, Naruto had been replaced by Sai, Danzo's ilk, and he barely got along with Sasuke and Sakura.

At that the door opened, and Sakura came in with a fresh batch of flowers, Yamanaka Ino following right behind her. Both girls froze as their eyes fell on them, then drifted over to Naruto, who was blinking at the ceiling. Sakura's eyes widened and darted back to Tsunade's, pleading silently for confirmation to what she was seeing, but Tsunade didn't have to say anything because Naruto took that moment to reply to her question.

"Okay," he murmured. Sakura gasped.

"Naruto!" she breathed, and Shizune positioned the bed so that it was sitting up. Naruto turned drowsy eyes to his teammate as she rushed over and gave him a hug. "You're awake!" she exclaimed tearfully, releasing the boy and stepping back to get a good look at him.

Naruto's mouth turned up in a weak smile, a mere shadow of his old one, but Tsunade felt a wave of relief rush through her. It was still there, even if it was just pieces of it.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked, as Ino took the flowers she had in her hands and put them in the vase, removing the older ones.

"Confused," Naruto replied, head drooping a bit. Sakura nodded and gave him another hug. Naruto lifted his head and gave another smile. "What happened?"

Tsunade quickly stood up, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder before she could reply- but it was unnecessary, Sakura's face was solemn, and clearly she was having a hard time meeting his eyes. Naruto saw this and gripped the rails of the bed, pushing himself up more.

"Just tell me!" he demanded, blinking rapidly, and she realized he was fighting the drugs. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chiza make some quick gestures to a nurse that had been hovering in the doorway, who quickly rushed off. "Don't baby me, Tsunade-"

"Naruto, calm down," Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder, but Naruto slapped it away angrily, pale face flushed.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Tell me what happened? Why am I here? What-" he cut himself off as the nurse returned, too slow to hide the syringe-Naruto had seen it and slumped back in the bed, eyes smoldering and sullen. The nurse paused, looking from Chiza to Tsunade, unsure if she should still administer it now that Naruto had calmed down. He hadn't really- he just didn't want to be sedated again.

"Naruto," Chiza stepped forward. "We think it's best for you to remember on your own instead of breaking it to you harshly and inadvertently cause more damage." He hesitated then continued. "We will tell you that you have been here for a few years, but I think you already know that. Let's just focus on getting you up and moving about first, okay? Your muscles are very weak right now, and it'll take some work in getting you mobile again. Can we work together on that?"

Naruto rubbed his face a little too roughly but nodded, looking weak now that the adrenaline had run its course.

"Great," Chiza seemed pleased and a little too relieved that Naruto had chosen to be reasonable. Sakura was biting her lip in concern, Ino was still by the flowers, eyes watching everyone uneasily. Tsunade sighed.

"I've got to get back to the Tower. I'll be back, okay Naruto?" The blond didn't look at her, instead staring at his covered feet. She patted a bony shoulder; his body had been fed through TPN's and though it gave all the necessary nutrients needed for the body to survive, it still wasn't enough to keep it at a healthy weight. She headed for the door, Shizune following after, and glanced back at the miserable figure he portrayed. Tough days were ahead of him.

-----------

He didn't know when Sakura had left, could barely recall any of her words, couldn't think much beyond the growing sense of dread that had descended upon him with the realization that no one wanted to tell him what had happened. Something terrible had happened, something he had done, or something that had been done to someone he cared about...It wasn't Team Seven though- Tsunade had mentioned Sasuke and Kakashi, and Sakura had been with him though he couldn't remember a thing she had said to him...

What frightened him was that the harder he tried to think on it, the more the weight seemed upon him. Something terrible...

"Here you go Uzumaki-san," the woman's voice startled him, and he looked up as she set a tray of mush before him, on the small tray/table. "I know it looks nasty, and you probably want something with more substance, but your stomach hasn't had much in it for some time, so we need to start small, okay?"

He nodded, which seemed to please her, and he was hungry, so he gladly took a spoon and shoveled some down- apple sauce, the best he had ever tasted. Hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it out of the way as the woman told him to push the button if he needed assistance, then left.

When he looked down at the tray, the applesauce had disappeared. In its place was a woman's face, just the skin of her face, with large brown eyes and several brown strands of hair stuck to the edges...She was looking at him.

Naruto slapped the tray away from him and jerked from the bed, IV's and other tubes pulled roughly from his flesh. His legs crumbled beneath him, and he collapsed to the floor, arms only stopping him from bashing his face into the linoleum. With a gasp, he dragged himself away from the bed, as far from the tray as he could, until his weak, traitorous body refused to move, and he lay on the cold floor in a flimsy gown, bleeding in several places.

He knew that face, he'd seen it before, her identity hovered at the edges of his mind...he only had to think a little-

"What happened Uzumaki-san?"

He looked up, startled to see the woman standing by the bed, looking down at the tray, then at the IV's that dangled from their poles. She picked up the tray and scooped up the apple sauce, plopping it into the tray and setting it aside, her eyes focused more on the IV's.

"Why did you take them out Uzumaki-san?" He looked at the IV's...and then it hit him. He was in bed. How had he gotten back onto the bed? Just a second ago he had been on the floor, unable to move! He looked at the woman, and she must have seen the confusion in his eyes, for her eyes softened. "Alright, don't be afraid, you just took them out a little sooner than we planned. Why don't you lie back and I'll get you more apple sauce."

He shook his head rapidly, eying the mush. No, he wasn't hungry anymore- he was far from hungry now.

"Alright, maybe later," she turned the bed from its reclined position so he could lay fully down. He stared at the ceiling, mind running a mile a minute. He didn't remember getting back into bed- that was something he should remember, right? There was a prick in his hand, but he didn't notice. Who was the woman? He knew her- he didn't know many woman, but he knew this one, he...

The nurse watched as the drug took affect, and the blue eyes fluttered and closed. She frowned. She had come back in fifteen minutes later, and there he was sitting in the bed, staring at the far wall, smiling- it had been an odd smile- she couldn't exactly say if it had been friendly or malicious, only that it had made her uncomfortable. When she had asked him what had happened, the smile had immediately disappeared, replaced by confusion. She didn't like that- didn't like that he had done that.

Not when he was who he was.

TBC

For those who want to know right away, yes, the Voice will be back.

There will be no pairings in this fic, which should be of no surprise by now.