Once again Naruto was sitting in his favorite study room in the hospital. He'd been spending all morning moping over the events from yesterday. Because of this he'd managed to completely forget about his plans for today, and so was surprised when Sakura entered.
"Oh, hi Sakura. I was expecting you." As if he'd admit to her he'd forgotten. She could be scary when she was mad. And she got that way over the strangest things. "Just have a seat and we can get started."
Sakura however, did no such thing and instead made her way over to the bookshelf. Naruto began to grow worried as she scanned it. Finding the book she was looking for, and pulling it out she made her way over to Naruto frowning the whole way. "You crushed the base of its spine? Very funny. Don't think that'll get you out of this."
He'd thought it was funny. Maybe Sakura just didn't realize how clever he'd been. "But Sakura, you said if I damaged it, I'd share it's fate. Well, I do. So that's that. Right?"
Sakura's expression shifted, as she apparently noticed Naruto's state. He was somewhat disheveled and despite being in the study room, didn't seem to have anything in front of him to indicate he had been working. "Is something wrong Naruto?" As grateful as Naruto was she'd dropped the subject of the book, he wasn't sure this particular topic was any better. Oh well, it'd be easy enough to use his superb acting skills to get out of this.
"Nothings wrong with me. I'm fine." See problem solved, she's completely convinced I'm in excellent condition right now.
"Is it Sasuke again?" she replied.
Huh, he'd just said he was fine. What did it take to convince her? "No. If you must know we worked things out yesterday. It's just ..." Oops, slipped up a little there hopefully she wouldn't catch that.
"Just what, Naruto?" It seemed she had caught it. Sakura should be an interrogator or something. She must be as good as Ibiki already to catch Naruto like that. Almost anyone would have fallen for his routine. Naruto knew at this point it wasn't worth trying to hide it. Sakura wouldn't give him any peace until he'd told her.
Then again, he could just make something up. There's no way even she could catch him twice in a row. Quickly formulating the perfect story he opened his mouth to start explaining, "The truth Naruto, don't lie to me." only to close it again as she cut him off. How did she do that?
"Fine. It's just that my parents told Jiraiya he can't train me anymore." This was obviously not what Sakura had been expecting to hear.
"Jiraiya has been training you? I assume this wasn't in medical jutsu." At least he'd managed to sneak that arrangement past her. He felt somewhat better knowing she hadn't worked out all his secrets.
"Yeah, he's been training me in all sorts of ninja moves. Like my dad's rasengan." Naruto was grateful he could finally brag about all the cool jutsu he knew to Sakura. Then his face fell. "But I guess that's over. He won't be teaching me anything else. It was supposed to be a secret but Ebisu ratted us out."
Seeing how much this was bothering Naruto, Sakura attempted to cheer him up. "Maybe you could find someone else who could teach you."
Naruto appreciated her effort, really he did, but she just didn't understand. Jiraiya had been his father's teacher. "It just wouldn't be the same" he said, putting his thoughts to words.
Sakura though it over for a few moments before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. "You know, Jiraiya might not be allowed to teach you anymore. But what if he were to give me some lessons instead. If we didn't happen to notice that you were nearby watching, well I guess you might just overhear our training plans."
Naruto's face quickly made it clear exactly what he thought of that idea. "That's perfect, Sakura! Thank you so much for thinking it up. I'll pay you back for this, I promise. For starters, how about I show you that technique I promised you."
Smiling back Sakura seemed glad to have been able to get him out of his funk. "I'm happy to help, Naruto," she said. Then her eyes took a dangerous gleam "but first, we're going to take this book to the Hospital staff. You're going to apologize for damaging it, and you're going to mean it."
******
Sakura had proved a capable student, and was already performing the skill after just a few hours of lessons. Having said their farewells, Sakura had left. Now that he was free, Naruto thought it would be the perfect time to head down to the public baths to try to locate Jiraiya and inform him about their new plan.
Before he could do so, however, the door opened and a young man walked in. He thought he'd seen him around the hospital before, but didn't have a name to go with the face. The man seemed surprised to see Naruto in there, but decided to do the polite thing and greet him. "You're Naruto right? My name is Kabuto, it's nice to finally meet you. My father is the head of the Konoha Medical Unit, and he speaks quite highly of you."
Naruto preened at the compliment. Good to know someone recognized talent when he saw it. "So what brings you to my little corner of the hospital, Kabuto?"
"I was doing some research," he responded, "I'm studying medicine myself, and I'd heard there was some interesting material in this room. I'm afraid I'm not as advanced as you are, but I'm hoping there's something at my level." Naruto liked this Kabuto guy. It's rare to meet such a friendly and honest person.
"It's amazing how young you started," Kabuto continued "you must have given up so much to putting all that effort into your studies from such an early age."
Naruto scoffed at that, "It's not so bad, well, other than the books and stuff. But I'd give up anything to fix my legs."
Kabuto smiled at that "You shouldn't be so quick to say that Naruto. Some people may want things you wouldn't be willing to give up."
Like what? Thought Naruto, he was having difficulty thinking of what he wouldn't be willing to pay. Maybe if they wanted his arms to fix his legs, but that'd be silly. Who would even ask for something like that? "It's not like it matters," Naruto said, "no one else is able to help me. That's why I'm figuring out how to do it myself."
"You mean no one in Konoha can help you," Kabuto said. Now having Naruto's complete and undivided attention. "there are, however, some very skilled healers in other villages."
"Like who?! Why haven't I heard of this before?!" Naruto asked at a volume that was a bit high even for him. This was huge news to him. He couldn't believe he'd never thought to look outside of Konoha for help.
Despite Naruto's exuberance, Kabuto was able to calmly continue "Well, there is one person I could contact who might be able to help you. But you understand that with you being from Konoha, he won't help you for free. He'll probably demand some ... fairly significant compensation."
Before Naruto could even respond to this the door flew open and in strode his little sister. For an instant, Naruto thought he saw a flash of irritation from Kabuto on being interrupted. But it vanished so quickly he wasn't certain he hadn't imagined it. While Keiko was still surprised from seeing a stranger in the room with her brother Kabuto spoke up once more.
"Just make sure you think carefully over what I've told you Naruto. You'll probably want to keep it to yourself for now too. You wouldn't want anyone to make the decision for you; would you?" And with that, he left, leaving Naruto alone with his sister.
"What was that about?" she asked him. Deciding to take Kabuto's advice about keeping it to himself, he decided to once again employ his acting skills. Sakura may not have fallen for them, but surely he could fool his own little sister couldn't he?
"That was just ... uh ... a fan of mine. Yeah, that's right. He, you know, wanted me to take him on as an apprentice and teach him everything I know and stuff." Naruto mentally patted himself on the back for that little piece of acting skill. Now to watch just sit back and watch his sister gobble up the story.
"Um ... whatever you say Naruto. That's not important anyways." Success! He'd sure pulled the wool over her eyes. He shouldn't feel too proud of himself though. This was his innocent little sister. She probably barely understood the concept of lying. He almost felt bad for tricking her like that.
"I came to see if you'd take me out to Ichiraku Ramen. We haven't spent much time together lately."
As if he'd ever say no to that! "Sure Keiko-chan. We can go ready now if you're ready."
"Thanks nii-san" Keiko replied. She was obviously pleased with his response. Although he was surprised she asked to go to Ichiraku. Ramen wasn't one of her favorite foods. Just goes to show how nice she is that she would pick her brother's favorite place, he supposed.
******
Arriving at has favorite ramen stand, Naruto discovered a young Hyuuga girl who looked to be about his age already sitting there. From behind him he heard his sister talking to him. "Naruto, I forgot I'd promised to return a book to a friend. You go ahead and order, I'll be right back."
When he turned to look at her, all he saw was a log. She must have really been in a hurry to return that book. But back to the ramen, she'd told him to order and he wasn't about to put that off any longer.
******
A short distance away, Keiko popped into place behind some bushes where Hanabi was already crouched down waiting. She was happy the first phase of her plan had gone off so smoothly. Hanabi, however, seemed to be less excited about that fact than she was.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" her friend asked her.
"Sure it is." Keiko replied. "They're perfect for each other. He has enough confidence for the both of them. And if they hit it off and get married, we'll be sisters. Now quiet I don't want to miss anything."
Naruto, meanwhile, had just finished ordering, and during the wait for his food, had decided to strike up a conversation with the girl next to him. "I've never seen you here before. Is this your first time here?"
Hinata looked panicked at the fact she was being spoken to. "Y-Yes Naruto-sama. My sister, Hanabi, brought me here."
"So, you're Hanabi's sister. That would make you, uh ... um ... " Naruto fumbled around obviously trying to recall what her name was.
"It's Hinata, Naruto-sama." Hinata interjected.
"Ah, that's right. But could you drop the sama please Hinata-chan? I get enough of that already."
Hinata seemed to consider that for a few moments. "Alright, Naruto ... kun." She said as if testing the sound.
"Wait, if Hanabi brought you here, then where is she?" Naruto asked.
Hinata looked embarrassed but responded anyways. "After we got here, she informed me she was leaving but that I was to wait here until she told me otherwise."
Keiko elbowed Hanabi at that. "You just ordered her here and then told her to stay put? You're not helping Hinata that way."
Hanabi looked offended and whispered back "Would you prefer I lied to her like you did?"
Lying! She hadn't really lied to him. It was for his own good so that didn't count, right? Realizing she was missing their targets' conversation she hushed Hanabi and went back to listening.
"It's strange that both our sisters ditched us here." Hinata blushed at this, obviously having realized some time ago what their true purpose was. Naruto, on the other hand hadn't quite worked it out yet. "My sister is just returning a book to a friend, though, she'll be right back."
Her brother always was a little dense in some areas. "That's it!" Naruto exclaimed. At least it seemed he'd finally worked it out. "I bet Hanabi was the friend that Keiko needed to return the book to." Or maybe he hadn't she thought, groaning inwardly.
Ramen still not having arrived, and Naruto not being the type to sit in silence, he continued talking to Hinata. "You're not much like your sister, you know."
Hinata looked down dejectedly at this. "I know, I'm pretty pathetic compared to my sister. I-I'm sorry if I'm not what you expected Naruto-kun."
Naruto appeared to be caught completely off guard by this proclamation. "What?! Who says you're pathetic?!"
Hinata seemed to be sinking even deeper into depression. "Well, my father and ..."
Not even letting her finish Naruto interrupted. "What does he know about that? Maybe Hanabi might have a bit more talent than you. I don't know. But that just means you have to work harder. Everyone says I can't be a ninja at all, but I still train hard and I'm going to show them all some day."
'Way to go nii-san' Keiko thought to herself.
Hinata seemed too stunned to say anything at the moment so Naruto started up again. "I know this awesome move of my dad's called the rasengan. I'll teach you how to do it and then there's no way your old man will be able to say those things."
Naruto knew the rasengan?! How did he learn that without Keiko finding out about it? She was going to have a talk with her brother about this one.
"I wouldn't want to waste your time Naruto-kun." Hinata finally managed to squeak out. "I probably wouldn't even be able to learn it."
As Keiko expected of him, Naruto wasn't about to accept that response. "It's not that hard. With enough work anyone can learn it and I'd enjoy helping you train. I'll stop by some time and see if you're free, if that's ok with you."
Hinata blushed even deeper than before at that, but if Naruto noticed he didn't show any sign. "I-I'd like that Naruto-kun."
Any further conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Naruto's first two bowls of ramen. Keiko knew there'd be no further worthwhile conversation for quite some time. Directing Hanabi to get Hinata out of there, Keiko started to make her way home all but skipping on the way. She hadn't even graduated from the Academy and already her first mission was a big success.
******
Naruto was annoyed. He'd spent the last few days trying to find some sign of either Jiraiya or Kabuto but couldn't find a trace of either of them. Hopefully, he'd have better luck today. It seemed that his fortune was looking up as he found one of the men he was looking for standing just inside the main entrance of the hospital.
"Good morning, Naruto." Kabuto said cheerfully. "This man here the person I mentioned in our last discussion." Having him pointed out Naruto noticed the tall plain looking man dressed in a Doctor's outfit. Before Naruto could remark Kabuto shushed him. "Let's not make a scene. He's not from this village and it's best if he doesn't have too much attention drawn to him. Now if you'll follow me we can discuss this in private."
After following Kabuto for a short distance, the three of them made their way into one of the hospital's examining rooms where the door was shut behind them. "Have you put much thought into this, Naruto?" Kabuto asked.
"What's there to think about?" Naruto replied. "If he can fix my legs then have him fix my legs."
"It's not that simple Naruto." said Kabuto. "First of all. This procedure is painful and extremely dangerous. I won't lie to you, Naruto, there's a good chance it could kill you."
This caused Naruto to pause, but only for a moment. "Hah, as if some stupid procedure could kill me. I'm not afraid of it." The strange doctor got a big grin on his face at Naruto's response. Apparently he was really looking forward to doing the procedure.
"If that's your decision, Naruto, we can do the first part of the procedure right now." Kabuto informed him. "This part will adjust the chakra in your body in a way that will prepare you for actual healing technique. Are you ready to start?"
Naruto took a few more moments to fully consider the possibility that he could die. Did he really want to risk this? If it went wrong it would devastate his family. Not to mention depriving Konoha of its future greatest Hokage ever. Maybe there was a better way.
No. This is what he'd been after for the last five years. He wasn't going to throw it away now that he was so close. Firming his resolve one last time he looked Kabuto in the eye. "You bet I am!"
Right after saying that, Naruto felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Then everything went black. Because of this he wasn't able to see the strange doctor removing his head from where he had just bitten Naruto, or the three tomoe that formed around the bite.
******
When Naruto came to again, he noticed that it was now just him and Kabuto in the room.
"Congratulations, Naruto." Kabuto told him, having noticed Naruto's awakening. "The hard part is over now." Remembering what happened right before he passed out, Naruto reached up to his neck to feel a bandage in place where he held felt the pain coming from. "It may hurt from time to time, but the danger has passed." Kabuto told him.
"What happened to that doctor?" Naruto asked.
"He felt it was better if he didn't stay around longer than necessary. You've been out for a few hours."
"What?!" Naruto cried out. "Then how is he going to finish the procedure?" Thinking of something, Naruto looked down and tried to will his legs to move in case they'd already fixed them while he was out, but nothing happened.
"That brings me to an important issue I'd like to bring up, Naruto." Kabuto said. "If you recall, I told you that this man wouldn't help you for free." Naruto hoped that this wouldn't be too expensive. He'd already spent most of his allowance for the month and he hated asking his parents for more money.
As if reading his thoughts Kabuto continued. "He doesn't want money, Naruto. Before I tell you what he wants, I need to confess something to you. Both that doctor, and myself are from a newly formed village called Otogakure."
"You mean you're a spy?" Naruto asked him astounded by this revelation.
"Yes, I am." Kabuto replied. "Jiraiya is a spy too, Naruto, it doesn't make me a bad person. I promise you I have no ill will towards Konoha. It's just something that ninja villages do." Naruto supposed that made sense. Kabuto had done nothing but help him so why should he doubt him now?
"You see," continued Kabuto, "being a new village we don't have very many skilled ninja. Having another one of your caliber to do missions would be a great help to our village." Naruto was going to object to this and tell him he was no traitor but Kabuto cut him off before he could do so.
"Calm down, Naruto, we're not asking you to join our village permanently. We just want to borrow you for a bit. We're going to have to continue the treatments for a while after we fix your legs anyways. It's necessary for the treatment to become permanent. You can just do a few missions while you stay with us and then you're free to go home when they're finished."
Naruto pondered this. He couldn't remember what the law had to say, but he was pretty sure you weren't allowed to work for another village even part time.
Seeing his hesitation Kabuto decided more should be said. "Of course you're always welcome to decline the offer. I wouldn't hold it against you. This is a major decision."
For some reason Naruto's neck was really starting to hurt. He wanted to refuse the treatment. Tell Kabuto that he'd find his own way to cure himself. But for some reason he was filled with a burning desire to get fixed as soon as possible. Stronger even than any such desire he'd had in the past. He supposed that being so close to actually having a cure just made him want it all the more.
"Fine. I'll do it." Naruto finally said. "But can I at least let my family know that I'm leaving?"
"Of course, Naruto." Kabuto told him kindly. "You can write them a letter. Just make sure not to tell them anything that would let them know where you're going. They might try to stop you if they discovered where you were going."
Naruto supposed that was good enough. So he grabbed a piece of memo paper and a pen that were nearby and began to write out his note. After finishing he showed it to Kabuto. "Is this ok?" Naruto asked him.
After reading the note Kabuto grinned more widely than he'd ever seen him before. "It's perfect Naruto." he commented. "I wouldn't change a word."
Getting back on topic Kabuto began to explain the plan. "An associate of mine will be by shortly to carry you to our village. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave your chair behind. But you won't have use for it much longer anyways."
Naruto didn't like the idea of being carried. But he was fond of the notion of leaving the stupid chair behind and supposed he could put up with being carried just the once.
"Now you just relax here until he arrives and I'll make sure your parents get your note." Kabuto said before exiting the room.
******
Keiko made her way into the hospital. She had been sent there by her mother to bring Naruto some food, seeing as he had missed dinner again. Entering the study her brother always worked in she wasn't at all surprised at the state she found him in. Sitting in his chair with the lights off, asleep. Honestly, he could be so irresponsible.
"Naruto." she called out. "Naruto!" a little louder. Getting no reaction she went up to him and grabbed him to try to shake him awake. When doing so she was surprised to feel something wet on her hand. Walking back to the door she flipped on the light. Looking at her hand and then back at her brother she screamed.
The stuff on her hand was blood. And there were large quantities of it all over her brother's body. She continued screaming, this time at least coherently as she cried for help. Running to her brother she tried to stop the bleeding. But it appeared his blood had long since stopped flowing from the twin cuts on his wrists. Those cuts were likely caused by the scalpel now resting on the floor by his chair. Not seeing how she could find one, she nevertheless desperately searched for a pulse.
Getting nothing she was now completely in a panic. Out of desperation, she searched the room, for something, anything that could help just make this ... not be happening. While doing so her eyes came across a note. On it was simply written:
Dear mom and dad,
I'm writing this rather than telling you
because I know you wouldn't understand.
I'm going on a trip now, but don't worry,
we'll see each other again before you
realize it. And I'll be able to walk then.
Love,
Naruto
*******
AN
First to clear up any possible confusion. No I did not just kill Naruto. For those who don't know, in episode 51 of the anime or chapter 89 of the manga, Kabuto disguises a corpse as himself to fool Kakashi. He simply made one look like Naruto in this case.
That out of the way, I surprised myself finishing up another chapter so quickly. And longer than the previous two. This story just seems to write itself. And it seems determined to traumatize poor Keiko for life in the process. I now have the rest of the story planned out in my head. If it works out like I plan, there should be two more chapters and an epilogue, so it doesn't look like this will be an epic length tale. This is all subject to change based on my whims, of course.
I appreciate all the reviews. But I'd like to thank SaruXIII in particular for his advice on the formatting. This is exactly the sort of review a novice fanfiction writer, like myself, needs. There may still be some mistakes along that line in this chapter, as it was more than half written when I read his review, but I think I fixed most of them.
Once again, I'm going to tell you not to expect the next chapter so quickly this time. I think I might even mean it this time.