Sorry if this one's short...just a short section I guess


Zephrys


~Flaiche~

Shizune had been very concerned when one of Naruto's clones came in to the tent where she was tending the lady Hokage. It seemed that a young couple had been attacked outside the gates of Konoha, and her help was needed to save them.

As Shizune rushed to the main medical tent, leaving the most trusted ANBU to guard her mentor, her mind raced faster than her feet. What could have caused an attack so close to the vigilant village without even causing alarm from the Konoha nin keeping guard all around the village borders? Sakura was a skilled medic…and if she couldn't handle the two of them alone, then the injuries must be very severe. How could something that caused so much damage escape the notice of Konoha's best?

Shizune pushed her troubled thoughts from her mind. It wouldn't do to be frantic when someone needed her.

The medical tent was up ahead, and Shizune rushed through the opening, preparing herself for the worst.

However, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.

Shizune let out a scream, instantly awakening all of the sleeping Shinobi in separate sections of the large tent. All except the two bodies that were laying before her.

It was impossible. Absolutely and completely impossible. And yet…

Shizune walked slowly forwards, unaware of Sakura's confused questions and pleas for help as she attended the sleeping woman. The woman with a face she hadn't seen in so long…and hair as fiery red as her temper. And there, lying next to her, his bloodied and bruised face screwed up in unrest, was him. But he couldn't be alive, because he was dead! Gone sixteen years ago.

She knew this! It was fact, however tragic it was. But still, she couldn't deny what her eyes saw as she gazed down into the face of the Yondaime Hokage, his chest rising and falling with the proof of life, as if he and his wife had just been asleep for all this time.

"Shizune!" Sakura's voice finally cut through to the dark haired woman.

"Sakura…where on earth did you find these people?" Shizune asked, with a hint of fear shining through her forced calm. "Who…who are they?"

"I'm not sure…Naruto found them outside the village walls," Sakura said, pink eyebrows drawing together in concern at her fellow apprentices reaction. "But it won't matter who they are if you don't help me soon! The woman's nearly stable, but I haven't even gotten started on him yet!" Sakura said desperately, jerking her head towards the blond man.

"I'll take over her, you tend to him!" Shizune said, instantly shifting into medic mode as knelt down at the red haired woman's side.

Sakura shifted over to the man, instantly setting to work fixing the hole that pierced through both sides of his belly. Shizune quickly examined the almost identical wound on her patient's stomach, noting with relief that Sakura had already fixed the major damage. However, blood was still slowly seeping from the woman, and not from the obvious hole in her gut.

"She's just given birth," Sakura said, glancing quickly over at Shizune before instantly looking back to her task. "There's some kind of trauma, but I'm not sure what to do!"

Shizune's mind was spinning. She'd known about Kushina's pregnancy with Naruto…sixteen years ago, but Sakura was right. She was suffering from severe damage done to her body, indicating unusually high levels of stress from the birthing process and failure to receive the proper rest and medical attention after birth. It was like that dreadful night so long ago had just happened.

"My god…Kushina what on earth happened to you?" Shizune whispered, and Sakura look up in time to see the tears glistening behind dark eyes as Shizune got to work, healing the damage and working on stabilizing her unconscious form.

They worked in silence, both focused on one of the unfortunate patients, and it wasn't until the couple lay peacefully asleep, with no immediate danger, Sakura finally spoke to Shizune.

"You…You spoke that woman's name," Sakura said, her breathing slightly heavy with the amount of chakra spent healing them both. "Do you recognize her?"

Shizune nodded her head, her eyes looking ahead but not truly seeing. "This woman…she looks exactly like someone I used to know. But…she died in he Kyuubi attack, she and her husband, the Yondaime…"

"What!" Sakura gasped in astonishment. "But…I never even knew the Yondaime was married!"

"It wasn't common knowledge," Shizune said sadly. "The Yondaime had so many enemies, he just never broadcasted the information. He'd never deny it though…Minato and Kushina were very much in love."

Sakura was scrambling to put these shocking pieces together. "D-Does that mean…is he…?" Sakura trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"This man looks exactly like the Yondaime," Shizune confirmed. "But whether its him or not…" she shook her head, staring at him with uncertainty. Could this really be Namikaze Minato?

Logic was telling her that it wasn't him. Konoha's brilliant young leader had sacrificed himself for the village when she was in her early teens. This had to be some sort of trick…an impersonation, or an imposter. But there was a nagging feeling pulling at crumbling logic in her mind.

Minato sold his soul to seal the Kyuubi to the death God, and Kushina had died after the extraction of the tailed beast.

Though neither of their bodies had ever been found.

But there was blood found…so much blood, no one could have possibly lived with that much blood loss.

Yet here they both lay, alive and breathing.

"I know who can confirm if its them or not," Shizune said, getting to her feet.

"Who?" Sakura asked, and her eyes were trained on the red haired woman.

"Kakashi."


still sick...been reading the reviews, and they really make me smile, so thank you all for your wonderful words!

Hope you like this next part, I actually worked on this a little today, so yay for me!

Im just gonna sleep now, see you!

~Ducky