Drifting outside of my consciousness, all I could see was black, black, pitch black, and... more black. My favorite color. Black was cold, simple, and unpredictable. It resembled the wonders, fears, and protection of the unknown, that which desired the ability to stay hidden. It's a direct reflection of myself in a lot of ways. I've hidden so many aspects of my personality to everybody that's its funny. However, with the way things are going, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I wish I could bask in this, this sheet, this shelter. Lies aren't always bad, especially white li-... White. That blinding purity that I was raised to avoid since day one: light. The closer to white a color is, the more revealing, and thus the more dangerous it was. As I continued to revel in the pitch black of my unconsciousness, a sudden flash of light left my eyes burning like hell. Wait, my eyes? The black returned and, as tempted as I was to let it stay, I decided to face the dreaded white.
Surprisingly enough, I was met with a flash of yellow in the bottom portion of my peripheral. After taking a second to look down, I saw a baggy-eyed Naruto sleeping soundly on my lap. I'll admit, I'd go as far as say that he looked adorable if the pool of drool hadn't covered my legs from the upper thigh all the way down to my ankles. Wait, but why was I here in this white room with Naru-...
It all came back to me in a flash. The first day at school the chakra training, the excruciating pain in my body. He must've watched me all night... My train of thought was interrupted when a nurse walked into the room.
"Are you feeling alright?" She asked with concern evident on her face.
"Nothing feels wrong, atleast I don't think... How long have I been out?"
"62 hours." My jaw nearly dropped.
"Two and a half days!? Has Naruto been here the whole time!?"
She nodded with little emotion.
"Was he fed?" I swear if she says no... As her face lit up with realization followed by evident anxiety, I paled.
"Ma'am, I want you to stay very calm. It is not this hospital's responsibility to-" I dashed off with Naruto slung over my shoulder faster than you could say Ichikaru. Using all of my strength(which wasn't much since I was out cold for almost three days), I leapt across the rooftops with a speed staggering to ninja of any rank. I found myself at home in a matter of seconds. Once I got inside, the silence let me know that I was hyperventilating. The way Naruto's skin was paling didn't help much either. Not wasting a second, I rushed into the kitchen and readied some instant ramen and water since it was all we could afford with the meager allowance the third squeezed out for us. I poured a cup of water down his throat while I was impatiently waiting. After a couple of minutes -what felt like years- the instant ramen was done. I held it right under Naruto's nose with ever growing anxiety. I was about to give up all hope when, all of his sudden, his eyes snapped open, and he literally dug his face into the bowl. Once he finished inhaling his food, he looked blankly into my eyes for a good eight seconds(he obviously acted only on animalistic instinct a while ago) and blinked a couple of times.
"Big sis? What... Where-". He was cut off by a swift smack upside the head, courtesy of moi.
"What the hell, Naruto!? Do you know how worried I was? What's the deal going days without eating or drinking!?" I yelled. His little stunt irked me more than he'd ever know. The way he sheepishly grinned and scratched the back of his head aggravated me more. He
"It's no big deal-"
Kept.
"Right? I"
Making.
"only need eight bowls-"
Me.
"Of ramen(he thought that was a little bit?)-"
Angrier.
"Per meal, so I'm fi-"
SLAP
The fake smile on his face was replaced by a high degree of hurt and mistrust. I knew how much he tried not to make others worry about him, but he needed this.
"You're not fine. Going three days without nourishment is enough to put someone who isn't also feeding a giant nine-tailed beast powerful enough to bring entire villages to the ground in mortal condition! How stupid do you think I am!? Did you really think that your own sister could possibly not worry about you or not feel distrusted when you lie to my face!? Am I that uncaring and dumb to you, is that what it is!? Or do you just not love enough to trust me with your burdens? He visibly flinched at that last bit. We were each other's world, and I knew it was as low as a low blow could get.
"Big sis, I just wanted to show that I was strong enough to endure it and watch over you, because I thought you'd always thought of me as a weak l-little kid who needs p-protection... " He started sobbing.
"I love you sis, sorry to make y-" He was cut off by a tight(by his standards, anyway) hug from me and a kiss to the forehead. Squatting down to his level with my hands on his shoulders, I took a deep, shaky breath and carefully gathered my thoughts before speaking.
"Naruto, you're not weak. You never have been and never will be -well, maybe until you get older than the third," this elicited a small chuckle from the fragile crying boy in my arms.
"Look, it's not about whether you need protection. It's my job to protect you as your older sister. It's what older siblings do, they look out for their younger siblings so that when they come across a seemingly unbeatable obstacle the younger sibling knows that the older sibling has their back. That together they can overcome anything. Understand? I don't doubt your ability, it's just my job to help you in preparation for that one thing that you just can't get through on your own. And it'd not just family either. Friends, partners teammates, they all share and carry a burden to heavy for any single one of them, and together they reach their goal, whatever it may be." I finished my lecture and hugged him one last time. I then sat him on the living room couch next to me to continue.
"I'm sorry for what I said, you know I didn't mean it, right?"
He nodded.
"I love you, Naruto, and there's nothing you can do that'll ever change that. I know I may snap at times like what happened a couple of minutes ago, but it's only because I care about your well- being. Anytime you do something like what you just pulled, it feels like my heart stops. Remember. You're more important to me than myself. I couldn't live without you. Can you promise your big sister something?"
"Of course!" I was glad to see his mood lightened.
"Promise not to put yourself in a position where I could potentially lose you..." I squeezed him a little harder and held back some tears. I couldn't lose my family, not a second time.
"Alright, pinky swear?" He held up his left pinky.
"Pinky swear."
ooo
"So, old man. Any idea what happened to me?" I asked the third as he furrowed his brows in a chair on the other side of the hospital room.
"When you tried to connect your chakra to Naruto's, the Kyuubi's chakra seeped into yours and tried to invade, like a virus: systematically destroying your chakra -which will lead to death- and replacing it with the fox's own. During the two days you were out, we had seven medical ninjas working together to pull out the fox's chakra faster than it could spread." He explained. Even though I paled, I hid the fear evident on my face by pretending to observe the events going on outside the window.
"What would've happened if huge entire process was completed?"
"I don't know. The first Hokage was the only one who could control all of the tailed beasts. However, the methods he used as well as a good amount of other knowledge of the tailed beasts died with him many years ago." He shrugged casually and then looked over to me. Despite myself, my jaw had dropped a tiny bit, something he took notice of.
"So anyway, where's Naruto?" He changed the subject in response to my surprise, as if he knew that I was gonna ask why. I guess I'll just have to dig around for it later.
"At school." I continued to stare at the window to hide my expression. The kids there might try to bother him since he's a jinchuriki whom just hospitalized me(albeit accidentally, but from the last six years of experience, people seem to overlook things like that), his only family. Plus, he was always a bit of a troublemaker, pulling pranks and not thinking before he acts. Come on, hospital discharge me already!
"Worried about him?" The knowing look on his face when I turned back at him told me he already knew the answer to that question.
"How'd you-"
"I've lived a long time."
"No kidding." I responded in a split-second's time, something that visibly annoyed him.
"You're not supposed to agree when an old ma-"
"Back to Naruro," I cut back to the first topic, something that had the desired effect of the old man's heightened annoyance. Even though he didn't retort, he kept muttering something about a women, age, and hypocritical behavior.
"Well..." I began, "I'm not sure he'll be able to fend for himself without me. Ever since you passed that law, which pretty much alerted everyone to whom the demon-container was, great job by the way," His left eye twitched twice but I ignored it,"as well as that incident 6 years ago, attempts on our lives have been pretty frequent- almost daily. Of course, I've dealt with them, but I hid just about all of it from Naruto, so I wonder how he'll take it on his way home. Of course, he knows of the prejudice, but not the extent that they'll go..." I ranted worriedly. I saw the usually laughing old man change his expression into one of complete seriousness before switching back to the toothy smile Naruto learnt from him and answering:
"You're worrying too much, remember, this is. Naruto here. You trained him well enough, didn't you? You're skill level(sans chakra) is just past jounin level, and I'd say he's chunin level based off of the stories you told me." He finished. Sitting back and thinking about it for a second, I guess he was right. I mean, I trained him to be able to live easily in the wild, and I made sure his taijutsu as well as studying habits were top-notch. He also handles kunai and shuriken at an expert level. Who was I kidding, he'll be fine!
"I guess you're right! Thanks, gramps!" I smiled at him, again brushing off his twitching left eye and threats to knock me down to size.
"So when can I expect to be discharged?" I asked. I was never very fond of sitting still(more like ready to throw a tantrum if I say still for more than hour at any time other than sleep). I saw the third ponder for a second.
"Well, given your abnormally quick recovery rate(I perked up), I'd say anywhere from two months to a year."
"WHAT THE HELL!?" I jumped up and yelled. In my fit of rage and curses, I missed the amused Cheshire grin on his face that stretched from ear to ear. His face turned red from trying to hold in the laughter, but he ultimately failed and burst out laughing hysterically at my face.
"AHAHAHAHHAHAHAA! That look was... PRICELESS! Oh my god, fourth, if you could see the look... pfft... On her face right now..." He was rolling on the ground. Literally. His laughter stopped me dead in my tracks. After taking a couple seconds to process what was happening, I struggled to suppress the ever growing rage and embarrassment welling up inside me. I knew it wouldn't last long, and judging by the look on his face, he knew it too. All it took was 3. 2. 1, then... I pounced.
"YOU MUST DIE!" I screamed. He struggled and failed to get me off as I clung to him and attacked like some kind of stray cat: scratching and biting him all over, using my nails and grip to crawl all over his body and avoid his grabs. He was helpless against my wrath. There was no room for mercy.
"I COME IN PEACE! Oh please, not the balls. Not the balls. OH GAWD NOT THE B-EYAAAAAAAA!" I nailed him right where it hurt and proceeded to slam his head seven times against the floor. I heard that it erases someone's memory from an anime I saw called Noucome. On the third slam, a couple of medic ninja, some anbu, Naruto, and some girl from the. Hyuuga clan all barged in on me. Just in time to witness the other four slams. With each impact, the floor cracked more and more(not that I noticed or would have cared at the time) and each person present winced at each slam. Once I finished, I turned a sadistic smile to the others who were petrified with fear.
"Oh hello there, comrades." I hissed, eliciting a shiver from said comrades, "I'm going to erase your memories in just a sec, it'll all be over soon..." I continued inanely, sharpening my kunai. I saw the anbu raise their weapons whole the medics & 2 academy students attempted to turn tail and get backup. Attempted.
"Oh where do you think you're going," I said when I teleported behind them via Body Flicker Technique, "com-" I gripped their shoulders hard enough to shatter a boulder(literally),"rades?" They all sweat dropped. They knew what was coming. Nobody spoke of that day's events again, courtesy of 49 head slams.
ooo
It's been 3 days since the epic(and mysteriously unexplained) beat down given by moi. I was finally getting discharged. It took hours of constant complaining, but it friggin' worked! No way in hell am I staying here for a week and a half! Thinking about it still makes me shudder in fear. Anyway, Naruto and the same Hyuuga girl from last time were waiting for me at the exit of the hospital. When I walked towards them with a wave, I noticed the clingy girl hide behind Naruto. Crap, did I not slam her head hard enough? Nah, the wraps around their foreheads can't be a coincidence. She's probably just shy. Or scared, considering the violent nature I displayed on the first day. Erasing all doubts from my mind, I went to greet them both.
"Hey Naruto! How's school been for you?" He grinned in response.
"It's been awesome! I sent those bullies you told off packing and I made a new friend!"
"But no friend's as important as your big sis, right?" I said while getting him into a light, semi-headlock. He flushed a little bit in embarrassment but soon forgot all about it when we began wrestling in the dirt.
"U-um, h-hello. My name is H-Hinata of the Hyuuga c-clan..." A light, barely audible voice spoke. We couldn't hear her, so we went on wrestling. I had Naruto on a triangle choke hold, but he slammed me on the ground to loosen my grip, causing me to grunt a little bit. He took the moment slip out of the near-submission and go for the People's Elbow, but I managed to side roll out of the way just before my face got bashed inwards. While he was recovering, I faked a jab and went in for the tackle(It always works, even though he knows that jabs aren't allowed in our grappling matches). He groaned in both pain and frustration at that cheap move that nailed him for huge umpteenth time. I then gorilla rolled over him and got him into an arm submission. He struggled for a little bit before side rolling, taking me with him and loosening my grip enough for him to counter with a leg hold. We continued this cycle of roll and counter until I got him in a backwards choke hold with his legs laying flat on the ground. Unable to use his lower body to escape and having his core restrained by my criss-crossed legs, he finally said:
"I give." I let go of him and we both rolled onto our backs, gasping for air, but laughing at the same time.
"Yay, that makes 220 for me, 0 for you~" I cheered while sticking a playful tongue out at him.
"I never win..." He complained. It was true, but,
"Oh stop whining, I'm not the one who gets to use chakra to augment their strength, speed, and stamina." I retorted. At this he pouted at me childishly.
"I almost had you a couple times."
"Well it was easily the closest you've ever gotten to beating me." I admitted. He then stared at me expectantly. I knew what he wanted, but pretended not to understand.
"What're you staring at me for?" I asked, though already knowing the answer. He opened his mouth to answer, but then went straight into his puppy-eyed look.
"AHH MY EYES!" I shrieked. He got me off-guard by pretending not to catch on, and I didn't have enough time to avert my eyes. I hated that thing, it always worked. Who the hell could resist that look? Trying my hardest to outlast him in the stare down, I was stumped when he began quivering his lip and somehow changed his eye color from the usual blue to the same black of a real puppy. In a matter of seconds, I gave in. HOW DOES HE FUCKING DO THAT!?
"You did a great job, little bro. I'll t-t-tr-tre-treat you to I-Ichiraku's..." I struggled. Treating him to that place was suicide, and I knew it'd clear me out, including the extra cash. I'd saved up from doing odd jobs in my spare time to afford those earrings... He knew my dismay but kept up the puppy-eyes.
"And... You can sleep in my bed tonight," his lip quivered more, "I mean- for the whole month!" He smirked triumphantly. DAMN IT!
"I swear, I'm so getting you for this." I mumbled with a glare. As he was about to retort, I noticed a haphazard spew of steam in both of our faces, so I turned to the source. It was the girl. How long had she been there? Her face looked red and she couldn't get a single syllable out despite her mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Why would she be flustered? I thought back to the words we just exchanged before it dawned on me. To the average bystander, it would seem I just promised Naruto that I'd go on a date, which, when paired with how I said he could sleep with me, makes us look like an underage couple. I felt heat rise in my cheeks as I stammered to explain myself.
"I-it's not what it looks like! W-we're not like that!" I yelled while waving my hands in the air in embarrassment. Seeing someone else just as embarrassed seemed to make her comfortable enough to get some words out.
"I-it's okay... I-if Naruto a-and you a-are l-like that-" she began, but I cut her off abruptly.
"I JUST SAID WE'RE NOT!" I screamed in a last ditch attempt to clear up the situation. It seemed to work as realization dawned in the Hyuuga girl's face and she looked down.
"O-oh, ok..." She said, another blush appearing on her face. And- wait... Is that... a smile? Holy crap, does she like him!? Speaking of him... I turned to Naruto whom was staring at us questioningly, apparently not understanding what just occurred. Nodding at each other, the girl and I both turned to him and politely said "it's nothing." He raised an eyebrow but, to our relief, brushed it off. Turning back to the girl, I asked her what her name was.
"H-Hinata Hyuuga." She answered nervously. I had to admit, she was adorable. I just wanted to give her a big hug just looking at the way she cutely played with her fingers when she talked. So that's exactly what I did. Her blush and stammering didn't help me fight the urge either.
"I'm Eruna Uzumaki. Nice to meet you. I think we're going to be good friends~" I smiled. I could practically sense that Naruto was tired of being excluded from the conversation, so I changed the topic to one that involved him and Hinata.
"So how'd you two meet?" I asked. Right on cue, Naruto jumped in and began telling the story enthusiastically.
"Well I was going after class to do some training before I came to get you because there was still time before your discharge, so I was heading to one of my favorite spots to work on things privately away from the usually crowded training fields. On the way there, I heard hysterical laughs and a scream so I immediately ran in the direction of the sounds. Within a half a minute, I saw Hinata being pounded on by the same group of boys that you told off." At this, the veins in my upper right temple popped out. I'm gonna kick some ass when I get back.
"They kept droning on about how she had it easy because of her Kekkai genial and her being the cousin of the top student, so I jumped in and got their attention on me, saying that she worked hard and that was why she did so well," I noticed Hinata blush again and look away with a small smile. Boy, she has it bad. "And so they attacked me saying that my b-word of a sister did all my work for me. Once I told them that was the last straw, they pulled their kunai and attacked me. But they were moving in slow motion, so it was painfully easy to take them down. Once I tied them up and reported them to Iruka-sensei, I helped Hinata up, treated her wounds, and took her with me here." He finished. Wordlessly, I began walking in the direction of the academy.
"Big sis, where are you going?" Naruto asked skeptically. I turned back to him, making no attempt to cover up my sadistic smile or killing intent.
"Just gonna go handle some unfinished business..." I said. Whether it was my hissing voice, killing intent, facial expression, or drawn kunai, it doesn't matter. Naruto and Hinata caught on quickly and made to tackle me. I sidestepped Naruto and had to resist the urge to laugh as he ate a mouthful of dirt, but Hinata soon wrapped around the side and nailed me with an oddly low head butt to my waist, but I used substitution, so she wound up meeting the same hilarious fate as Naruto. He began throwing rocks at me and I laughed.
"What so you think some measly pebbles are gonna do to- OW! WHAT THE HELL!" They were chakra infused! When the hell'd he learn to do that!? It wasn't important, those things drilled into my skin like butter and left me bleeding as if I got stabbed with a demon wind shuriken. As I frantically attempted to dodge the rock salvo(seriously, where was he finding those things!?), Hinata ran at me from and let a rock hit her from behind and used substitution. Crap, she used that so she could teleport and not give me a chance to dodge! I turned around, immediately regretting it since I got pelted all over my back from that little death machine of a blond over there and saw nobody.
"Above you!" Hinata yelled as her heel connected heavily with my face. I saw stars for a moment, but quickly recovered and blocked her follow-up palm strike. Of course, it left me open for a rock hit and I took a wound from it, but I'd rather take that then have my brain implode. However, she took another rock to the back and substituted again. This cycle of rock throwing, teleportation and surprise attacks from my blind spots continued for a good 15 minutes. I couldn't concentrate enough to substitute as I had to focus on dodging the rocks and defending against those teleportation strikes, and the sweep kicks Hinata three kept me from getting a chance to bend my knees enough to speed out of there. I was trapped and was only kept standing by willpower. I was sure to lose until something happened. Naruto finally ran out of fucking rocks! I shifted all of my focus to Hinata as she went for a roundhouse to my head. I caught her leg, swung her over my head a couple of times, and slammed her into the ground. As strong as she was, her body was pretty frail. All it took was two repetitions of that to knock her out. Once I tossed her limp body aside, I found naruto had already closed the distance and I just barely managed to duck his right cross. I poured everything I had into the counter uppercut that met his chin cleanly and lifted him off of his feet. Before he could recover I followed up with a chakra infused side kick to the chest that sent him flying a good 40 meters away. I huffed and dropped down to one knee. Incredibly fast recuperation was something that ran in the family that I used to be a part of, so one would think I had the advantage, but Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed in him. As he began to stand up, my vision blurred and blacked in & out haphazardly. Man, the lie was worth it to get a good fight like this. Most jounin and anbu are too busy to give me good sparring matches.
"Congratulations Naruto, Hinata. You've won." With that, I passed out with one of the most satisfied smiles I've worn in years.
ooo
I woke up to see Hinata and Naruto lying down in the same spots, eyes wide open, obviously still resting from our previous bout. All of our stomachs growled, and, with a laugh, I asked:
"Wanna swing by Ichiraku?"