FLOWER OF THE ICE
He came early at the meeting place, the Konoha Academy grounds. The place was empty because it was a holiday. It was becoming colder every day since winter was fast approaching. The sky had the color of gray; thick clouds slowly passing under it. You become sad just by looking at it. The majority of the trees had no more leaves left and the branches stiffly stood naked against the chilly breeze like scrawny fingers trying to reach out to the sky. The only consolation was a group of winter swans flying in a v-shaped formation above. They were as white as cotton, headed by the alpha male which had the largest wings.
Naruto, clad in his white winter coat, hugged himself. He puffed a plume every time he breathed out from his mouth. The forehead protector felt like ice against his skin.
No one was around other than him. He came too early, he thought. The meeting time was six in the morning. He fished out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was only five-forty. He sighed. Why was he so excited that he would come too early ahead of time? The reason was what Kakashi had told him. Sakura was coming. If what he was hoping for came true, he would get the chance to pair up with her on this mission. He couldn't wait to know what would happen. If heaven allowed, he could finally confess to her.
"Why are you smiling to yourself?"
He opened his eyes to see who it was and was surprised at what he saw. The voice came from a pretty blonde girl who had eyes the color of the sea in winter. Her fair skin had become red because of the cold.
"Ino?" he blurted out.
"Why are you so surprised? Didn't Kakashi-sensei tell you? Anyway, where is Sasuke?"
"Sasuke? Why do you ask for Sasuke?"
"What are you talking about? Kakashi-sensei told me that Sasuke would be with us on this mission."
"No. Kakashi-sensei told me that I would be with Sakura on this mission."
"What?"
"Don't tell me that Sakura couldn't come and sent for you, instead."
"What? No! What Kakashi-sensei told me—"
"Yeah. That's what I told you," Kakashi said. He was the same as always, with his black mask on. He was wearing his thick, black coat. "Yo!"
"Kakashi-sensei, what is Naruto talking about?" Ino fervently asked.
"Ah, yeah, that, haha."
"Don't 'haha' me! I need you to explain what is happening."
"I'm sorry," Kakashi said, looking away. "They couldn't come."
"What?!" Naruto and Ino said at the same time.
"What is the meaning of this? Why couldn't they come?" Naruto asked.
"Sasuke was assigned to a different mission. Sakura can't leave the hospital."
"You're kidding," Ino said.
"I'm not. Sorry to disappoint you both. Anyway, since both of you are already here, let's talk about the mission you will be assigned to."
"What do you mean? Are you saying that I will be teaming up with Naruto?"
"Obviously."
"Hell no! I don't want to pair up with this perverted blockhead!"
"Oi, oi, who are you calling a pervert?" Naruto said.
"Who else? You are the only pervert here."
"What? If you're looking for a pervert, you're looking at the wrong direction! That is a pervert!" Naruto said, pointing his finger at Kakashi.
Kakashi instantly hit Naruto after hearing that.
"Ow, ow, why did you hit me?" Naruto said, putting his hands on his head where Kakashi's fist had landed.
"You're too early to talk to me like that. Now back to where we were—"
"No!" Ino said. "This meeting is over. I refuse to go."
"Me too," Naruto added. "I don't want to go with a nagger."
"Who's a nagger?"
"You are!"
"Take that back!"
"Oi, oi, act your age, you two!" Kakashi said. "You're not children anymore."
"Whatever you say, I'm not going!" Ino said with finality.
"This is an official mission signed by Godaime. If you refuse, I have the authority to revoke your forehead protector."
"What?" Naruto and Ino blurted out.
"Now that I have your ears…"
…
"I can't believe this!" Ino said. "Why should I go with you of all people?"
"That's my line!" Naruto countered.
They were now on their way to their destination. It was the Big Bear Mountain. The mission was this: Search and retrieve the rare flower "Flower of the Ice" from the Big Bear Mountain. It was a flower that only grew on winter every ten years when the earth tilt for about a degree from its axis. The flower had chemicals that could cure many illnesses regular medicine couldn't. It was a request coming from the current Keeper of the Nara clan, the clan specializing on research of new technology. Because of its importance, even though it wasn't that dangerous, Master Tsudane ranked the mission S-class. That was why if they failed, they would automatically lose their shinobiship. Also, there was a catch. The flower only lived for forty eight hours and they had to bring it back while it was still fresh.
"This is ridiculous! I hate this!" Ino continued. "It would have been great if I was with Sasuke. Even Neji will do!"
Naruto suddenly stopped. His pride was crushed enough. Surprised, Ino stopped as well. They were standing on the branch of adjacent trees.
"That's enough. If you hate me that much, you can just go back. I'll complete this mission alone. If you hate me so much that you can't stop complaining even for a second, you can go back. I promise I'll still put you as my partner in the official mission register."
"Oh, so you are already accepting it, huh? That you're no good compared to—"
"I know that. I know that I'm not cool or a genius like those two. But I can't accept that someone is trampling over my hard work. While you have the time to rest and spend it on fun things, I go and train myself till I can no longer move. While you have the time to worry about being able to look good, I go and beat myself up to be stronger, to at least catch up with you. I'm not that good with lessons even when someone is already tutoring me. I only hear disappointment, ridicule, and laughter behind my back. I've known it since I was a child, that I'm a slow learner, that I come up with funny ways to perform simple techniques that you could easily do blindfolded. I know that. That's why I didn't give up and trained myself very hard.
"I know that you hate me because you're convinced that you don't deserve me. I know that, at least. I know that ever since. I thought that I could brush off the feeling of insecurity by defending myself verbally against you. But I was mistaken. I'm still not that confident with myself. I'm not used to pinpointing the fault in others so I can't talk back. I'm afraid that if we stay as a team, I will break in front of you. Because, right now, I admit that you're already hurting me."
With that, Naruto jumped off to the next branch and left her.
Ino felt guilty after hearing Naruto's words. She didn't know that Naruto had been taking her words, seriously.
"Fine!" She said. "Do it yourself and die! Idiot!" She waited for a reply, but she heard nothing. "Do you think I'll go after you? I'm going back!" She paused. "I'm going back, you hear me!" She paused. "Jerk."
Left with no choice, Ino decided to go back. She felt uncomfortable as she jumped off from branch to branch. She was still hearing in her head the words he had said especially his admittance that her words had hurt him. Gradually, she was losing her motivation. Then, at last, she stopped and reconsidered.
"Damn it!" she muttered. After some moments of thought, she decided to go after him.
Then, something unexpected happened to her. She lost her footing when she suddenly stepped on a wet branch. As she fell, all she could do was scream.
…
Having a strong sense of hearing, Naruto had heard what she said. "Do it myself and die, huh? As if that could discourage me," he said to himself. He was on rhythm as he flew off from tree to tree. He was happy with his pace and thought that it wouldn't take the whole day before he reached the Big Bear Mountain. Then, he heard a scream. He suddenly halted and looked back. His heart raced. "Ino?" Without thinking twice, he hurried to where he thought the scream had come from.
…
When Ino opened her eyes, she was in a cave. There was fire beside her and it was raining outside. She felt cold and warm at the same time. She looked around. Her bag was in a corner with another bag. Her eyes widened when she realized that the bag was Naruto's. She hastily sat up. With the sudden motion, she felt her head swirl. Her head ached.
"You should stay lying, Ino," Naruto said. She whipped her head towards him. He was holding four catfishes held by strings on his right hand and a variety of fruit on the other which he had put in a small basket.
"Where are we?" she asked. "What happened to me?"
"In a cave, obviously. You fell from a tree and injured yourself."
The pain suddenly kicked in. She grunted. Now she could feel the sting from the wounds on her legs, arms, and face. Realizing it now, she grew afraid. From the quality of the pain, she was sure the wounds would leave scars.
"No! No! This can't be!" She started to cry. She didn't care if anyone would see. "Now what will I do? I will become ugly!"
"Hey, stop crying!" Naruto said.
"What do you know? Now Sasuke will be disgusted with me. I don't want this! It's all your fault! I knew it! You only bring bad luck to me! I'll never forgive you!"
"Okay, blame me. I don't care. I'm tired of arguing with you." Naruto started to put the fishes on sticks, roasting them in the fire.
Ino ignored him. "What will I do? What will I do?" She put her face in her hands.
Naruto let out a smirk.
"Now you have the right to laugh at me," Ino said. "You want this, right? You probably wished for this to happen. Now I don't have anything to make Sasuke like me."
"I didn't know that you could act childish at times." Naruto washed the apples he'd got with the water from his water pouch, and then he started to peel them. "Before you worry about your future appearance, you should first worry about how to survive today."
"You don't know how I feel right now. You haven't fallen in love, yet. You don't have the right to tell me anything."
Naruto clenched his jaws. "Don't judge people too easily." He finished slicing the apples into bite-sized pieces. He put them on the lid of his bento box and went to Ino. "Here, eat up."
Ino tried to slap the apples away, but her arm ached. She cradled it in her lap. "I don't want anything from you! Go away, you pig!"
Naruto, trying his best to be patient, put the lid down and rummaged in his pocket. He took out a small container. "Here. I got this for you."
Ino looked at it, suspiciously. "What is it?"
"It's from the bark of Kurakoyuhachi tree."
"What? You mean the 'Hidden Tree'?"
"Yes. I heard that it could make wounds heal faster and prevent those wounds from leaving any scar."
"How did you get it? I heard that everyone who attempted to get it died."
"What, you believe in those rumors? Not everyone died. That perverted Jiraiya-sensei always had this medicine with him. Here."
As she was taking it, she couldn't help from staring at him. She suddenly just couldn't breathe well. After all she had said, she didn't think that Naruto would still be capable of doing something like that for her. She was trying hard not to cry.
"What if it's fake? What if you're just trying to make fun of me?" Ino said, looking away.
"It's real."
"Where is your proof?"
Naruto sighed. Then he showed her his left hand. His pinkie was bandaged on a stick. "Here."
"What happened to your hand?"
"I don't want to show this to you because you might worry. I deliberately broke my finger to wake myself up from the illusion the tree cast on me. Don't worry. It's small and I heal fast."
Now, it was really getting hard to breathe for her. "Why are you doing this for me?"
"Your face is like my hard work. We both treasure and are proud of them. As I've said, I don't want anyone trampling over my efforts. I only thought that you must also feel awful if your face is ruined. I just want to do things I want other people to do to me, especially for a friend."
Ino looked at the floor so that her hair would cover her face. Her tears were falling. Naruto didn't notice anything. "Baka. Who would befriend someone like you? I'm not your friend."
Naruto laughed. "I know. But even though it's one-sided, I want to be friends with you."
"I…I…go away. I smell of sweat. I want to change."
Naruto smiled, faintly. He thought that he needed to try harder to erase Ino's animosity towards him, whatever the reason behind it. "Okay. I'll leave you with the fishes then. When they're cooked, take them out of the fire and place them just near enough so that the flame will keep them warm."
"Okay." Her voice was cracking.
"And the apples too."
"Okay! Just go away!"
"Right, right! I'll not be back for a while. I'll get some water and firewood."
As he was leaving, Naruto looked back at her. He noticed that she was trembling. He thought that she was cold. "Hey, Ino, I have a blanket in my bag. If your blanket is not enough, use it."
Ino nodded. He sighed. He really couldn't understand girls. But, he felt that he had gotten a little closer to her. For that, he was happy. It was worth the risk of getting the Kurakoyuhachi ointment. He decided that he would make Ino acknowledge him as a friend by the end of their mission.
As he walked, he suddenly felt extreme pain from the wound in his stomach. He suddenly had the urge to retch. His vision doubled. He took in a lungful of air and exhaled from his mouth. It diminished the pain a little. After doing it a few more times, he went on. The wound he had had been inflicted by a large centipede living in the tree. Even if he swabbed the ointment over it, it would do nothing. The centipede's food was the tree sap, so the venom it produced countered the effectiveness of the ointment.
Inside the cave, Ino cried while clutching the small container to her bosom. It was the very first time that someone had cared for her that much. She knew what obstacles there were before you could get to the tree. Master Tsunade had told her and Sakura about it. And for Naruto to face that ordeal just to get the ointment for her despite all the harsh things she had said, she really was a lucky girl. She couldn't stop crying in guilt. She felt that her chest would burst open.
…
When Naruto got back, Ino was sleeping. He put the firewood he had gathered near the fire so that it would be dried. He put the water pouches beside his bag and went to wash his hands in the rain. He got back inside and took one fish from the ground. He started to eat. As he was about to finish, he heard Ino groan. He immediately went to her.
"Ino, are you all right?"
"Naruto…"
Naruto put his hand on her forehead. "You're hot!"
"My leg. It hurts," Ino muttered.
He immediately knew why. Her leg had the nastiest wound. It had been pierced through with a sharp stone.
"It's okay," he said, consolingly. "I'll make the pain go away."
He left her and when he came back, he was holding a small rectangular case in his hand.
"Ino, I'll use acupuncture on you, but before that, let me ask you this. Do you trust me?"
Ino stared at him and realized that he was cute on close range. Those clear blue eyes staring seriously back at her made her heart race. She knew that it was not the time for it, but she felt that she was starting to be attracted to him. The heart-shaped face, the cute nose, the pretty set of lips…she wondered if it was her fever that made her feel the urge to pull him and kiss him. Why didn't she realize earlier? Naruto could match her crushes in terms of appearance. He was well-built, his face was smooth, and, in addition to those, he was a nice guy.
"I'm an idiot. Naruto, would it be okay if I fall for you, instead?" she muttered.
Naruto didn't hear this well. "What? Hey, Ino, listen. The acupuncture points for pain are on the area close to your breasts. I'm asking you if you trust me enough to let me put the needles on them."
"You mean if I could let you see my breasts? Pervert!" Ino said, smiling fondly.
"No, no. It's not that. I—"
"Yes. You could, Naruto. If it's you, I think I could let you."
"Please don't think badly of me."
Ino inhaled as Naruto started to open her clothing. She watched him. He was really serious on what he was doing. She couldn't see any hint of lust in his eyes.
"You're really a nice guy, huh. You could at least get excited over my breasts, you know," she said.
"Oh, yeah, they're pretty pleasing," he said. But she saw that he didn't mean it.
"That's rude. Ah!"
"I'm sorry. It will get numb later so please bear with it." He continued feeling for the points with his thumb and forefinger.
After a while, Naruto had successfully inserted five pins over her chest, and when he was inserting the last one, he accidentally grazed her right nipple with his palm. He didn't notice it.
"Ah!" she grunted.
"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"
"N-n-no. Go on, please."
He carefully inserted the pin. "It's done. Now, I should put pins on your leg, too."
As he was drawing away, Ino suddenly put her arms around his neck. She was smiling.
"Ino, wait!"
"Naruto, do you think I'm pretty?"
"What are you saying?"
"Answer honestly."
Naruto put on a serious face, his eyes full of sincerity in them. "I think you are."
Her smile grew bigger. "Then, when we get back, would you be my boyfriend?"
"I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person here."
"I'm serious."
Naruto sighed and took her arms away. He started to fix her clothes. "I think you should rest. You're fever is pretty high. I don't think you're in the right mind to say something like that."
"Yeah, whom am I fooling?" She wiped the tears that sprouted from her tear ducts. "Of course, you won't like a useless nagger like me."
"Wait! I didn't say anything like that."
"Yeah. I understand. Maybe I'm just thinking things."
"Ino, love doesn't come easily like that. This morning you hated me, and then, out of the blue, you'll ask me to be your boyfriend. I just can't believe that."
"Women's hearts are fickle. You should expect something like this from us."
"Yeah. And it's heightened when you have a terrible fever. Now, rest. I'll be doing your leg next."
"Hey, Naruto, I don't have any underwear."
Eyes wide, Naruto stared at her. "What?"
"Yeah. Take a look if you doubt it."
"As if I would!" Naruto sighed. "Okay, if that's what you want, I'll not bother with your leg, anymore. Now, sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."
This alarmed Ino. She suddenly didn't want to part with Naruto's touch. "No, no, I'm sorry. Don't leave out my leg, please. Please, I'll stop teasing you." She realized what she had said. "No, I mean…"
"See. It came out. So, you were just teasing me?"
"No, it wasn't…"
"Stop it. No more excuses. You're busted." Naruto took hold of her leg.
She kicked him away. "I changed my mind. Go away!"
"Huh?"
"I said go away!"
"What? After all that—"
"Shut up! I don't need you!"
Naruto stood up and gathered his things. He didn't understand what just happened. As he was walking back to where his bag was, he suddenly thought of something to say. He thought that it would make Ino happy. "Hey, Ino, nice breasts. They're my type."
Ino picked up a rock and threw it to Naruto. "You jerk! Pervert! Lecher! Pig! Go away!"
Naruto was dumbfounded. He didn't understand what to do anymore. He wondered what was going on in Ino's head. He couldn't help but stare at her as he rubbed the pain away from his forehead.
…
In the middle of the night, Ino woke up at the sound of someone grunting. She looked at where sound was coming from and saw Naruto being tended by his clones. She thought that she was just having a bad dream. Naruto was crouching over and his clones were putting needles on his back. There was a nasty cut on his lower back. A clone was dabbing it with cotton. The area around the wound was all purple. It hurt just by looking at it. Ino watched until the clone covered the wound with bandage. Then, the clones turned to smoke and Naruto dressed up. He went to the mouth of the cave and looked up at the sky. After some time, he went to her. She immediately pretended to sleep.
He sat beside her. "I'm sorry about earlier. Honestly, I don't know how to deal with girls. Especially when you said that you wanted me to be your boyfriend. I was really shocked. Haha. You must have thought that I was pathetic. Yeah. I am. No one has paid attention to me so much and I'm already happy if I make a new friend.
"You're attractive, Ino, very attractive. Actually, when I saw your naked body, I kinda felt strange. I just told myself that that was not the right time to think that way. It was honestly hard to do that."
He paused and looked at her, admiring the peaceful face she had. Looking at that beautiful face, he decided that he didn't deserve her. He shook his head and looked away. He was starting to feel the urge to kiss her. For a while, he just stared at the fire. Then, he suddenly leaned over and kissed her.
Ino felt his lips and shivered. She didn't know what to do. Calm down! Calm down! she told herself. She forced herself to relax. In the end, she parted her lips and let him in. Naruto was clumsy in doing it. She thought that it must be his first time. Anyway, she suppressed the urge to help him with it because it might blow her act. So, she let him explore her mouth on his own. It had been fifteen seconds since he started and she was now having difficulty stopping herself from replying. The more frightening thing, he was learning, gradually. She was starting to feel lightheaded. Her most sensitive parts began to ache. Then, when she was about given up and was already decided to grab him, he ended the kiss.
Realizing what he had done, Naruto blanched. "Shit!" He looked at Ino. He was grateful that she didn't wake up. It's sexual harassment, right? Right? Damn it! How could I take advantage of a sleeping girl? I'm the worst!
"Sorry, Ino," he said. "I'm really sorry. You looked so pretty and…and I just lost myself. I'm sorry." He hastily took off and went out of the cave. He didn't know that Ino was secretly watching him.
Ino suddenly snorted, letting out a thin layer of mucus out her nose. She hastily took a piece of tissue paper beside her and wiped it off while giggling. "How cute! Hahaha! Naruto, you're so cute I want to hug you until you can no longer breathe! Hahaha!"
Outside, poor Naruto looked up at the sky, clenching his fist. As atonement, I'll get the Flower of the Ice myself. Just wait, Ino, this is to atone my sin. A scary thought where Ino sent him to guillotine occurred to him and he trembled in fear.
…
Naruto reached the Big Bear Mountain before dawn. The place was covered in snow. There was nothing but snow and rocks and ravines around. He had no idea where he could find the flower, so he tried to go to the highest peak. On his way, he suddenly felt some movement beneath him. He ignored it at first but it became stronger and stronger as he went up. He stopped. There was a groan. When he looked at where he was standing, he was surprised that the snow there wasn't normal. It looked like fur. He inspected it closer. It must be frozen grass, he thought, and pull a handful out. Suddenly, the ground trembled and rose up. He hung on the fur-like material so that he wouldn't fall.
"What the fuck is happening?" Naruto said.
There was a loud roar and Naruto saw the monster. The ground he had been walking on was actually a giant polar bear. He immediately got away from the beast. It had an ugly, fur-free face. Its eyes were like black, obsidian stones. It roared at him. On its head that looked like a patch of earth, there was a beautiful white flower. He smiled.
"Heh. So the Big Bear Mountain was actually a bear. I'm sorry, mister bear. I'll be taking that flower of yours."
Naruto took off his clothes and created two clones. The clones pulled the pins out from his chest and back. Immediately, blood came rushing to his mouth. He clenched his teeth to push the pain back. Just a little more, dammit! Just a little more!
…
Ino sat up from her futon as she heard the morning birds chirping outside the cave. The sun was already high. What was left of the fire was ash and darkened firewood.
"Naruto! Naruto! Where are you?" she called out. She got no answer back. "Geez, that man." She suddenly thought about the kiss and blushed. She touched her lips with her fore and middle finger and giggled. "Geez, that was my first 'true' kiss. I'm now regretting doing my first kiss with Inoue."
She slowly got up, testing her leg. When she put pressure on it, it didn't hurt. She stood up. Inspecting her leg, she found out that there were pins buried around the wound. So, Naruto put them, anyway, huh. Must be when I was sleeping.
Feeling ridiculously well, Ino stretched and went to wash her face. She squatted at the mouth of the cave and began to wash using the water from her water pouch. As she was about to finish, she caught sight of Naruto. She suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Good morning!" Naruto said.
"G-g-good morning," she said.
"Here," Naruto said, giving her a white flower with whisks of blood on its petals. "Sorry it has blood on it."
She glowed deep red. "W-w-w-what is this?"
"It's the 'Flower of the Ice'," he said.
She didn't know why she felt disappointed. "Right. Yeah. I mean, that's great! Now we can go back to Konoha!"
"Yup!"
"But, for now, let's have breakfast."
"Sorry. I have something to take care of, first. You can go ahead."
She turned her back on him. What is this? Is he feeling embarrassed? How cute! She giggled. She turned to face him, but he was already walking away. It was then that she noticed something. There was no splint on his left pinkie.
"Hey, stop!" He didn't stop. "I said stop!" She went in front of him. "Where is Naruto? Tell me where he is!"
"You better go. There's only three hours left before the plant dies. If we fail to bring the flower while it's still healthy, we will lose our head protector."
"I don't care about the protector, dammit! Tell me where he is!"
The fake Naruto just stared back at her.
"Damn it!" She punched the fake Naruto and it puffed into smoke. Then, she formed hand seals. "Shintenshin: Mind Locator!"
As she made her chakra flow faster, she suddenly felt pain in her head as if it was being torn apart. She screamed on the top of her lungs. She screamed and cried. That was the first time that she had experienced that kind of pain. She couldn't keep herself from losing consciousness.
Naruto heard her. Despite being in a bad condition, he tried to stand up to help her, but he would always fall back every time. He forgot to tell her that acupuncture points are chakra valves used to regulate chakra flow. By putting needles over them, one could divert the flow of chakra to the injured part to make it numb of pain and heal faster. When a patient suddenly opens his chakra valves while there are diverting needles over them, the chakra will bounce back and overload the chakra gate nearest to the affected part. In Ino's situation, it was the initial gate in her head.
He forced himself up, making use of the tree beside him as support. She was in danger. If he didn't hurry, Ino would die. If the chakra valves are not freed from suppression, her head would burst open. He had only one way of saving her.
Immediately, he created shadow clones and made them put five needles along his spinal cord. He knew that this was a risky move, but he was left with no other choice. After that, he opened his hands and shouted: "Rasengan!"
The pain was incredible. There was no known amount of screaming that could alleviate it. He felt that he was being burned alive. He twisted, writhed, and rolled on the ground. Ever since the Demon Fox was permanently sealed away, there had been no other way to increase his chakra reserves. This was the only way he knew to save Ino.
Bearing the pain that even restricted him from standing up, he went to Ino. With shaking hands, he pulled the needles out of her. However, he was too late. As a result of accidentally opening a gate, Ino's energy reserves had been drained to zero. Her heart was beating too slowly now that any moment it could stop.
Fearing her death, Naruto carried her in his arms and flew. Literally flew. For every jump he made covered a hundred meters.
…
The people of Konoha were dumbfounded when they saw the blue fireball flying over the roofs of their houses. Immediately, shinobis nearby chased it. They became more desperate to catch it when they saw where it was heading—the Hokage's office.
Naruto crashed into and destroyed the wall of Tsunade's office. Out of nowhere, fifty Jounins suddenly appeared and surrounded him, weapons ready, resolved to die to protect the Hokage.
"Save her," he roared like a thunder god. "Save my friend."
Tsunade understood what was happening. She jumped towards Naruto and poked him on certain spots on his torso. The bursting chakra suddenly disappeared. Now she could clearly see his appearance. Veins were throbbing all over his naked body and his skin had the color of blood.
"Bring in the emergency team, now! You, call Sakura and Shizune!" Tsunade yelled.
Naruto lost consciousness. Mighty Gai caught him while Neji caught Ino. Neji, having grasped the situation, put his first three fingers over Ino's chest and injected chakra into her heart.
Tsunade, on the other hand, busied herself with Naruto.
"Ino is okay, now. She just lost too much energy. She has minor cuts and a large wound on her leg. Other than that, she's out of danger," Neji said. "There are signs that acupuncture was used on her. It kept the wound from getting infected."
"Good," Tsunade said while feeling up Naruto. "But Naruto is in danger. I sense internal hemorrhage. His heart is beating one beat every five seconds. Some vital organs are ruptured. Chakra flow already stopped. If we don't hurry…where the hell is the emergency team!" She stood up and pull Hinata towards Naruto. "Keep him breathing! Inject chakra into his tongue while you're at it."
"M-m-m-me?!"
"Yes, you fool!"
"Y-y-yes!" Face as red as her cherry lips, Hinata put her mouth against his and blew in air into his lungs. N-no way! I'm actually kissing Naruto-kun! she thought despite the situation. No! This is not the right time to think of such things!
The paramedics arrived with two gurneys on tow. They worked fast securing an airway into Naruto's pharynx. One popped in a plasma pack on one of his hands while the other took Naruto's blood pressure. "No good," said this paramedic. "Downstairs." They hoisted Naruto up the gurney and carried him away.
Sakura and Shizune met up with the gurney carrying Naruto. Sakura blanched at Naruto's appearance.
"Naruto!" she blurted out. She couldn't move.
Back in the office, Tsunade gave orders to the ninjas around her. "Bring me the best surgeons of the Yuuga! Shikamaru, bring me your father! Minamoto, tell the elders the meeting is cancelled!" She suddenly felt very tired. "All the others can go back to your posts."
After a while, the only people remaining inside the office were Tsunade, Sakura, and Neji.
"God, why is this happening?" Tsunade said.
"Here, sensei, I found these," Neji said, putting down the "Flower of the Ice" and the small container with the Kurakoyuhachi ointment. "I got these from Ino."
Tsunade stared at the small container. Even if no one told her, she wouldn't make a mistake identifying what was inside. "It's Kurakoyuhachi."
Sakura stiffened.
…
Thirteen hours had passed. Ino found her way towards the operating room. No one was around except for a pink-haired girl sitting on the waiting bench. She was holding something in her hand.
"Sakura?" Ino said, softly.
Sakura didn't move.
"Sakura, how is he?"
Sakura raised her face and glared at Ino. She got up and accosted her. "What did you do to Naruto?"
"What? I didn't do anything."
"Then what is this?" She showed him the ointment container. "Did you ask him to get this for you?"
"N-no, I—"
"You know how dangerous it is getting this. Why didn't you stop him?"
"I didn't know that he was planning on getting it. We had a fight and I fell from a tree. He saved me and the next thing I knew, he was already giving it to me, claiming that the danger was all a rumor and all he got was a broken finger."
"Ah, so you didn't know a thing? Okay, now let me tell you. Naruto was enduring a fatal wound in his stomach all the time while he was taking care of you. He got the fucking flower all by himself with that wound. He carried you all the way here with that wound. Damn it! That is Uzumaki Naruto! The one who brought Sasuke back to Konoha! The one who saved us from Pain! The one who has been continuously doing miracles for us! If not for that wound, this shitty mission could have been a piece of cake." She didn't realize that she was already crying. "I just couldn't imagine him like this, inside a dark room fighting for his life. And all just because of a fucking wound he got from getting this ointment." She glared at Ino. "If Naruto d…if something happens to Naruto, I swear I'll never forgive you." Sakura started to walk away.
Ino caught her in an embrace. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry…"
Sakura resigned from walking and let Ino's warm arms to comfort her. "You know how kind Naruto is. You know that he will never abandon a friend."
"Sorry, sorry…"
"If you were a little considerate, if you showed him that you could trust him, I know that he wouldn't have done something reckless like this. That poor guy is always doing his best to be acknowledged by everyone."
"I'm very sorry…" Ino muffed her cries on Sakura's nape. "I'm sorry, Sakura."
"I love that guy. I was planning to confess to him this coming Winter Festival. You ruined everything."
"I'm sorry…"
Sakura turned around and hugged Ino back. They hugged and cried for him. They had the same wish. That Naruto would do another miracle.
…
Thirty hours had passed. Inside the operating room, the doctors were in a panic.
"He's slipping away! Inject in more chakra! You, what are you doing! Keep your chakra stable!" Tsunade yelled.
"Blood pressure is going down! Brain waves are fading!"
"Shit! Shit! Naruto!" Tears were flowing down from Tsunade's eyes now. "Naruto, try to fight, baby! Come on! Hey, I'll do anything you want if you pull through! Come on! Don't die on me, too! Naruto!"
"Breathing is slowing! Shit! Master Tsunade…" When this technician saw Tsunade, he knew that everything was over. "Shit, shit!"
The heartbeat monitoring machine showed a blue line and produced a monotone, high-pitched sound everyone is familiar of.
…
Naruto was panting as he clashed with the Third Hokage. Around him, Jiraiya, Pain, Zabusa, and Chiyo, who had already lost to him, watched the fight.
"Hey, Naruto, do you really want to die that much? Surrender already, you idiot! Do you know who are you up against with? It's the third! You don't have a chance of winning!" Jiraiya yelled.
"Shut up! I'll never give up! Doton: Dochu Eigyo no Jutsu!"
Giant fists grew from the ground to attack the third.
The third countered with: Doton: Doryuheki, creating a thick wall of earth to defend against the attack. On top of the wall, the third stood. He formed seals. "Katon: Karyu Endan!" He shot an enormous dragon-shaped flame from his mouth.
Naruto countered with: Suiton: Suijinheki, creating a water sphere around him.
When the two techniques clashed, the water turned into thick vapor and covered the entire area. Naruto took advantage of this and launched himself at the Sandaime.
"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Thousands of clones appeared around the third. "Haremu no Jutsu!" The clones turned into beautiful nude women, immediately sending the third flying with a burst of blood from his nose.
"Jiraiya, your student has grown stronger," Chiyo said.
"It's no use. He was defeated a second time," Pain said.
Jiraiya lay twitching on the ground, his nose oozing with blood.
"Scary," Zabusa said, suppressing his nosebleed with his right hand.
…
Back at the hospital, Shikamaru hurried towards the operating room. He had a pouch in his hand. In front of the operating room, he saw a lot of shinobi and villagers alike who were anxious for news. Kakashi, Iruka, Neji, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Lee, Choji, Tenten, Sai, Kiba, and Shino obviously hadn't had any sleep and looked drained. With one sweep at them, he could tell.
"What's happening? Hah…hah...hah…Any news?"
"Hey, no running in the hallways!" they heard a nurse shout.
From the distance, they saw Gaara and Temari and two other people frantically running towards them. Shikamaru was surprised. It was the first time he saw Gaara on a panic.
"How is Uzumaki Naruto?" Gaara asked, immediately. "Is he okay?"
"We yet to receive any news," Sakura said.
"Look! I brought the best doctors of Sunagakure. They can help," Gaara said.
"Let us see him," said one of Gaara's companions. She was a very elegant looking woman. "I'm Shishimi of the Forest."
Just as Sakura was about to answer, Tsunade, head bowed, got out of the room. She was crying. Her hand was over her eyes. "We're too late."
Everyone blanched.
"No! Tell us it's a joke!"
"It's not true!"
Kiba tried to go in. "Then let me see him!"
Tsunade held him back.
"Naruto! Don't joke around, you fool! Open your fucking eyes! Naruto!!!" Kiba yelled. Inside, a doctor was already putting a cover over Naruto's face. "Don't you ever do that! I'll fucking kill you!"
Tsunade held Kiba in an embrace.
"Let me go, you fucking big tits!" Kiba demanded.
Hinata cried quietly in a corner. Sakura was looking at the ceiling, too shocked to cry or make any movement. Ino was the same as her. Gaara sat himself on the bench, eyes wide. Shikamaru and the others didn't know what to do. Their eyes were staring into space.
…
Outside, Sasuke, who just arrived from his mission, arrived at the gate of the hospital. Using his Mangekyou Sharingan, he could see the sad state of the spirits of the people outside a certain room. He immediately knew that it was the room where Naruto was.
…
"Whatever you do, you won't be able to defeat me," the Fourth Hokage told Naruto. "No childish technique of yours will be enough. Go back, my son. Give up. It's not your time, yet."
Naruto spat out blood and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Heh! I'll never give up! I'll defeat you!"
"Hey, does Naruto know what is really happening?" Pain asked.
"No," Jiraiya said. "He doesn't know what he's doing."
"In this dimension, he will retain his unconscious memory. That's why he still remembers who we are by instinct; as if he has known us like he has known that his name is Uzumaki Naruto. But, he will lose his conscious memory," Chiyo explained. "The outcome of whether he dies or lives will be based on his life status. If he has regrets in life, he will be afraid to even face us. However, if he is already contented with his life, he will just see this situation as another obstacle on his path."
"That means he's already happy down there?"
"That's true."
Jiraiya suddenly noticed that his hands were fading. He gulped. "Yondaime, finish him up! We don't have enough time left."
"Awww. But I still want to play with him," the fourth said.
"Don't look away from your enemy!" Naruto attacked the fourth. But, when he was about to hit him, the fourth disappeared. Two shadow clones of the fourth appeared behind him and grabbed his arms. "Hey, let me go!"
The fourth continued talking with Jiraiya. "Could you go ahead and ask Kame to extend my stay?"
"No. We have already spent our time."
"Stingy pervert!"
"What did you say, you cheeky brat?"
"Hohohoho! Instead of bickering, why not spend your remaining time saying your goodbyes to the boy?" the third interjected. He was the first one to talk to Naruto. "Naruto, I hope that you don't forget about your dream." He put his hand on Naruto's head. "Become stronger."
The third walked towards the mouth of a certain tunnel. Zabusa followed him.
"You don't have anything to say to him?" the third asked.
"None. I just want to see him one last time," Zabusa replied.
Now, it was Chiyo's turn. "Continue on protecting what's important to you, Naruto. And please, stay friends with Gaara."
"Naruto, I entrusted you with my dream," Pain began. "I believe you can fulfill it. I wish you luck. Let's see each other again."
Jiraiya pulled Naruto away from the fourth's clones and hugged him, hugged him tightly. "I miss you, Naruto. I wish I could stay longer. I want to see your Harem no Jutsu once more!"
"Be serious!" the fourth blurted out.
"I wanna see it, too," the third muttered.
Zabusa was blushing.
"If you wish for it that badly, I can let you see my naked body, anytime," Chiyo said.
"As if we would!" the third and Zabusa screamed at the same time. Zabusa couldn't control himself when it came to outrageous remarks, especially if it was coming from an old hag like Chiyo.
Jiraiya held Naruto at arm's length and stared at him for a long time. "You should become stronger, okay?" He patted Naruto's cheek. "Sensei is very proud of you, right now. Make him even prouder." He hugged Naruto once more. Then, after a while, he let go and pushed him towards the fourth.
Right now, Naruto was a seven-year old boy. The fourth put him over his shoulder. "Look down."
There was a well like hole on the ground and Naruto could see sad people in it.
"See that?" the fourth went on. "They are the ones who love you. You know, these people are counting on you. They are hoping for another miracle from you. See that girl over there?" He was pertaining to three girls—Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. "When you continue on and go into the tunnel, she will be really sad. You don't want that, do you?" Naruto shook his head. "See? Now." He put Naruto down. "You try your best with them and never ever lose sight of your dream. Surpass us. Surpass me. I'll always believe in you. Is that a deal?" Naruto nodded. "Okay." The fourth knelt down and hugged his boy. "I love you, Naruto. I really wanted to be with you if I just could." The fourth wiped his tears away with the back of his right hand. "If I could just turn back time, but…" He exhaled and stared at Naruto. "I'm sorry for crying." After staring for a long time at Naruto, he smiled and planted a kiss on the boy's forehead. "Stay well. Oh, by the way, mom told me to tell you this: she loves you. She just couldn't go here and see you off. Said she didn't want to see you leave." The fourth stood up. "Be strong. I'll be going now." He started to walk away from him.
Unexpectedly, the child Naruto spoke. "Papa." The fourth looked back and he saw the current Naruto with determined eyes. "I promise. I'm gonna engrave my name in history as the greatest Kage who has ever lived. Jiraiya-sensei, Chiyo-obasan, Pain, Zabusa-san, Sarutobi-sensei, Papa…count on me!"
As he fell from the sky, all he could remember was the smiling faces of the people he had made a promise to.
…
"His string is not yet severed!" Sasuke said. "Please, check! My Mangekyou can still see his life thread! His body only needs a trigger to start his vital channels once more! "
Upon hearing this, Shikamaru put out his smoke pipe and put some powdered petals into the pipe's mouth. He pushed against a stunned Tsunade and went to Naruto. He lit the powdered petals, sipped some smoke, and blew it into Naruto's mouth. "Hey, I need some help here! Lee, come here!"
"Roger!"
"Pump his chest as fast you can, but be careful not to exert too much force. I'm counting on your strength control!"
"Understood."
"Neji!"
"Yes?"
"I need you to slowly inject his chakra channels with your chakra."
"Okay."
Neji got into position, putting his hand over the spiral on Naruto's navel. Lee put his hands over Naruto's heart.
"Okay, on my mark," Shikamaru sipped in some smoke. Then, he began counting with his fingers. One. Two. Three. He put his mouth over Naruto's mouth and blew the smoke into it.
…
Fifteen minutes later…
"Blood pressure: normal. Heart rate: normal. Brain waves: average. Chakra flow: Strong," the technician said. "You did it! It was a success!"
Shikamaru slumped on the floor beside Naruto's bed. " Whew! I thought I would really lose a good friend!"
Neji staggered as he backed off from the bed. A Yuuga surgeon hastily caught him.
"You must lie down for a bit," the surgeon said.
"No, I'm fine," Neji said.
"What? His heart is just beating normal? Let me make it beat faster!" Lee announced. But, before he could land his palms over Naruto's chest, Gaara's sand was already around his body and Sasuke was pointing his sword at his neck.
"You will stop if you still want to live," Gaara said.
"Back off, eyebrows," Sasuke ordered.
Aoi, Akamaru's puppy, jumped on Naruto's bed and began licking his face. Kiba came in to pull the pup's tail.
"Hey, stop it! You will wake him up!" Kiba said.
Tsunade slumped on the floor, crying in happiness. Shizune hugged her.
Hinata came running down the stairs.
"Naruto is alive! Naruto is alive!" she announced in the hallways. Her happiness and excitement overtook her shyness. Even the strict nurse who would always chide people who make noise in the hospital couldn't help but shake her head.
Sakura and Ino hugged each other, while Kakashi pulled down his forehead protector over his eyes. Iruka cried like a father who had just had his firstborn.
Sai smiled and left.
"This calls for celebration!" Choji announced, which the other people around agreed to.
Shino also left, but he would trip or bump into something on the way. He even fell down the stairs and ended up with a large bump on the head.
Everything was finally over. There was only one dominating atmosphere existing in that small place that all the people in there were sharing with each other—relief. They had witnessed yet another of Naruto's "miracles."
…
"How did you do it?" Tsunade asked.
"The 'Flower of the Ice' contains an unlimited source of spiritual energy trapped in its cells. My father discovered it and told me that it could revive cells that have just died. It was the trigger that Sasuke was asking for. It revives the life of cells like jumping a dead battery with artificial energy source. However, there will be a side-effect."
"What is it?"
"Because this energy source is so potent, it can affect some organ functions and erase some recently acquired memory. I'm sorry to tell you that there is a big possibility that Naruto would lose all the memories he acquired two weeks to a month ago."
…
It was snowing outside and even though the heater was on, Ino could still feel the cold. She was inside Naruto's room, watching him as he slept. It had been already a week since that incident happened. Naruto hadn't opened his eyes since then. He would just keep on sleeping through the hours of the day. It was a little frustrating for Ino, but she understood. She had decided to devote her time on always being by his side until he woke up.
…
When Naruto woke up, he felt strange. He looked around and immediately realized that he was not in his room. When he looked at his side, he saw a sleeping blonde girl. He was surprised. He sat up and felt the needles on his hands.
"Where am I?" he asked. Her voice had a metallic sound to it from disuse.
Ino stirred and opened her eyes. She almost fell over at the sight of Naruto sitting on his bed. "N-N-Naruto?"
"Oh, it's Ino. Hi!" Naruto smiled. "Where am I?"
"Y-you're in the hospital." Ino hastily gathered herself up.
"What am I doing here?"
"Umm…ano… a lot of things happened. It's a long story." She couldn't keep her happiness. "More importantly…" She threw herself at Naruto and hugged him. "I'm so happy! I'm so happy that you finally woke up!"
"What? Am I sleeping the whole time?"
"Mmm…"
Naruto was becoming uncomfortable. "Ah, Ino, I can't breathe."
"Please, let me stay this way for a couple of minutes more."
"Haha, I still don't understand. But, ano, your breasts…they're rubbing my face. It's making me uncomfortable."
"Hehe." Instead of letting go, she rubbed her breasts on his face even more. "You should feel lucky that a cute woman like me is doing this kind of service for you."
Naruto tried to push her away with his weak arms. "Please, Ino, let me breathe some air, first."
Ino withdrew from him, smiling. Naruto exhaled.
"Honestly, you were—"
Ino cut him off with a kiss on the lips. Naruto blushed from neck to scalp.
"W-w-w-what was that?" Naruto asked.
"A kiss, what else?"
"I-I mean, why all of a sudden?"
"Nothing. Just a thank you gift," she said.
"Huh?"
"Naruto, I want to apologize for everything I've done wrong to you. I'm sorry that I judged you wrongly. I'm sorry that I treated you like a fool. I'm sorry that—"
"Hey, stop! I don't get anything that you're telling me. And, please, quit with the apologies."
She chuckled. "It's just like you."
"Look. I don't understand what's happening. I don't know why I am in a hospital and why you suddenly became friendly towards me. If you please, I want to hear the whole story from you."
Ino stared at him for a long time. Then, she said, "Okay, I'll make this simple. There was this situation where I thought of you only as a good-for-nothing pervert. You tried to defend yourself but you gave up because you said that you were not good with pinpointing the fault in others. You left me. But you came back to save me when I had an accident. You took care of me and risked your life to protect the most important thing for me. You were so kind until the end. I had another accident because I was not being careful. I almost died. But, you came to save me once more. You exhausted yourself too much, trying to bring me to a hospital. Your condition became critical. Many people came to express their concern and support. There I finally realized how wrong I have been. I realized how great a person you really are. I realized that all this time I've been wasting my time liking guys that don't even say hi to me when we meet outside. I was blinded for a long time." She paused. "Naruto, I take back everything I said to you. Please, forgive me."
"Umm, I'm speechless. I didn't expect to hear that from you. And, please, I'm not that great. I'm only always trying to win some friends. About what you said, whatever they were, I don't care. I'm used to it, anyhow. But, now that you mention it, I really really wanted to be friends with you. In the past, you were always trying to keep away from me. I tried to act cool every time, to do things girls would pay attention to, but I always failed. I was really wondering how I could be friends with you because among all of the shinobis my age, you were the only one who would talk to me in a way as if I did something wrong. You know, it really hurt me. But now, I'm very happy because this might be a good chance for me. Yamanaka Ino-san, can we be friends?" He said, extending his right hand.
Ino tried hard not to cry. "Baka. Of course, we can!" She grabbed his hand.
"Thank you very much," Naruto said smiling.
Ino and Naruto had a long conversation. She told him everything about her even those precious secrets she kept. She even talked about the location of every mole on her body, which made Naruto embarrassed to death. Naruto listened enthusiastically to her as she animatedly told him about her most embarrassing moments, about who she hated the most, about her crushes, and about her dreams. It was past one in the evening when Naruto felt sleepy. He apologized to her and dozed off.
Ino looked at the wall clock. "It's already this late. Anyway, I don't regret staying over since I had so much fun." She stared at his serene face for a while. Then she planted a kiss on his mouth. "Good night, Naruto. Oh, yeah, just a piece of advice. You should prepare yourself this coming Winter Festival. You might get three confessions from three lovely girls who are deeply in love with you. I love you, Naruto, and I'll never give up on you. Sweet dreams."
Ino fixed his blanket, planted another kiss on his mouth, and went out of the room, humming a sweet melody.
THE END