Bro-napped Chapter 4: Pain
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own Zoe and Kuro.
[Zoe's POV]
I was awakened by a gentle shake on my left shoulder. I slowly open my eyes and saw unidentified blobs. I blinked, rubbed the sleep away and saw Yamato waking me up.
"Time to move out," he said.
"What time is it?" I rasped and cleared my throat.
"9:30 P.M. I figured you need at least thirty minutes to get ready," He replied. I nodded and got up. Yamato walked out of the room while I looked around the room that I was in. Sakura was already awake seeing that her futon was already have been made and she was missing. I got out of my futon and walked to the bathroom to tie my hair up into a pony tail. Then I secured it with a black clip and walked out. Team Kakashi was sitting together on the couch talking softly, which was rare because Naruto is never quiet.
"Alright guys, let's talk battle strategy." I began. "Team Kuro will act as back up, handling the hired bandits or criminal ninjas, so they will travel ahead of us. We will deal with Gokomatsu Daitaro and rescue Kakashi." I turned to Sakura.
"Sakura, you are the medic so save as much chakra as possible. This included no superhuman punches that might knock down the entire building," I turned to Sai.
"You're going to be our lookout for our general area. Also, Sakura is going to be with us." Sai nodded as I turned to Naruto and Yamato.
"You guys are going to be with me and fight with me." Then I addressed to the rest of the team together. "Be on your guards and contact us about anything with your wireless radio connection." I looked at the clock and it was 9:55 PM. It's about time to move out. "Let's move out!" I ordered. We grabbed our backpacks and left our hotel room. As we entered the lobby, I felt several pairs of eyes on our squad. It was Kuro's squad, waiting for us at the lobby. I gave them a nod and we moved out.
(In the middle of Spirit Grove)
I heard four loud clangs ahead of me. I saw that the body guards that were hired are attacking Team Kuro. I heard a loud static from my wireless radio headset.
"Zoe, lead your team and continue to go in. Our squad will handle this!" I heard Kuro grunt through the head set.
"Copy that!" I called back and doubled my speed. I can hear wood cracking and crashing as we zoomed by the wooded fighting arena.
(The abandoned building)
After running for thirty minutes, the abandoned building came into our view. I lift my left hand, signaling them to stop. We landed on a team branch and I took out four senbon needles. There were two body guards that guarded the front door. I moved in closer to get better target. I silently threw the needled, aiming for their necks. Both of the guards landed with a soft thud. I signaled Team Kakashi to come closer, telling them that the coast was clear. I grabbed the door knob and found that it was locked. Naruto grabbed a key that was hanging by the guard's belt and tossed it to me. I caught them and unlocked the door. We ran into the building. After running for about a minute, we found ourselves in an intersection that had three branches sticking out. I turned to Sai and found him already sending his mice out. I smiled.
'As expected from the ROOT.' I thought. Sai squatted down, with his left knee touching the ground to keep him in balance. His eyes were closed and his left hand's fingers were poised with the index and the middle finger up while the rest were closed. His eyes opened quickly and told us that the left branch had Kakashi and Gokomatsu Daitaro. We quickly walked down the stairs and found another two branches that gave the options of left or right. Sai directed us into the right side. This building was pitch black and I couldn't see anything. Then I saw a small and soft glimmer of light at the right side of the hallway. I ordered the rest of the team to slow down. I told Sai and Sakura to stay in the hallway, in case anyone comes in the door. I cautiously walked up to the opening and saw silver locks levitating. Huh? I peered in from the side and saw Kakashi-onii-san was strapped down on a metallic table. I tried to enter but, as the dream predicted, I was prevented from the chakra barrier. I heard onii-san's agonizing cry.
"Gahhhhhh! Huuuhhhh…" My eyes widened in horror. What the hell is Gokomatsu doing to my big brother? I backed up and slammed my body into the chakra barrier, but wasn't able to break through. I can hear Kakashi choke on air, trying to getting them into his lungs. He kept on coughing, struggling to stay alive and simply breathing. I backed up and ran to the chakra barrier, expecting to slam into the wall again when the barrier just disappeared and I ran straight into the room and ran into the wall, creating a loud "slam!" Naruto, Yamato, and Gokomatsu snickered at me.
"Don't laugh at me! I didn't know it would break that easily!" I yelled at Naruto and Yamato, my face turning into a deep crimson red. I got up and whipped out a kunai and went into my defensive position. Naruto and Yamato became serious in a snap and pulled out their kunais as well. Gokomatsu Daitaro had short and spiky black hair that ended at the top of his ear. His eyebrows were furrows yet his eyes were wide, as if he was insane. His eyes were the same color as his hair and his teeth were extremely sharp from someone who is a human. Think of Hoshigaki Kisame's teeth… yeah sharp. He had brown vest with no shirt which didn't have show anything nice to look at because he didn't have a six-pack so why show them off in the first place. He had black sweat pants with kunai holster and black shinobi sandals. He also had rubber gloves in his hands. Obviously he's a ninja or maybe former ninja.
"What did you do to my brother?" I hollered. He chuckled and lifted two metallic sticks that were in his hands.
"I'm torturing him by shocking him with some electricity so he will deactivate his chakra barrier around his Sharingan eye," he answered rather proudly. I narrowed my eyes as he walked closer to Kakashi. I threw my kunai at the leather belt, which was strapping his upper arm down, to free Kakashi and stop the guy from getting any closer to Kakashi. I pulled out another kunai and walked to the metallic table.
"You'd have to go through me to get what you want." I threatened. He just laughed… again! What's so funny?
"You think you can defeat me? I'm the great Gokomatsu Daitaro! I've conquered so many towns and villages!" he bragged. I blinked owlishly.
"Then how come I've never heard of you?" I asked bluntly. Oops, not a smart move; I just provoked him. He visibly twitched and charge to me. I quickly pulled out an extra mask for Kakashi's face, covered his lower face, and kicked Gokomatsu right into his guts, sending him flying into the wall. He dropped his little torture toy in the process. I freed Kakashi from the leather belt and saw the damage done to Kakashi's body. There were several thin, jagged burn marks that ran through his lower abdomen and along with his upper chest. His right leg was stabbed and his left arm had cuts and bruises all over his body. I placed my hand on his neck for his pulse. They were so faint that I almost couldn't detect them.
"Sakura!" I shrieked. She immediately came in and rushed by Kakashi's left side.
"Check up on him. His pulse is extremely faint." I ordered her. Sai walked into the room and well and saw situation.
"Sai, just stay in here!" I ordered and he nodded. Suddenly Gokomatsu lifted his hand and performed three hand signs: tiger, rat, and snake.
"Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi!" then, Gokomatsu teleported out of the building. The building began to shake and chunks of Earth and building began to come down on us. I told everyone teleport out of here. I gently slung Kakashi's right arm around my shoulder and performed the teleportation jutsu out of this place while the others did the same. I arrived at the front door, where we entered through, and saw the entire building was collapsing. I felt Naruto's and his team member's presence behind me. After the dust cleared up, I handed Kakashi to Sakura for medical treatment and turned my attention to Gokomatsu, who was directly in front of me.
"You can't get rid of us that easily." I shoved my hand into my weapon pouch and pulled out two kunais with paper bombs attached to them. I pulled them out and threw them at my opponent. Before he could dodge, I sucked out some water from a tree and used it to hold him down.
"Explode!" I yelled and the paper bombs exploded. When the smoke cleared, I saw his body completely unscathed. But as long as he breathed in the poison, I won't complain. I charged head-on and threw three more shurikens and he, of course, dodged it and performed hand signs: Ram, Horse, and Dragon.
"Doton: Doryudan!" He slammed his hand on the ground and a giant dragon that's made of dirt rose. Its mouth opened and a blinding light beamed out. I created a water dome as protection and when the beam died out; I created a whip and destroyed the dragon. Then I wrapped Gokomatsu in the water whip and thrust him on the ground. As I released the man, he rolled over and tried to escape into the woods but I chase him down.
"You're not getting away that easily, not after what you've done to my brother!" I hollered. He whipped around and faced me. 'What is he thinking?' I lifted my water-covered hands and felt my muscles tense. He smiled and threw three kunais with paper bombs. I immediately wrapped the paper bombs in my water and watched it burst. I looked up and realized that Gokomatsu was further ahead of me. Just as I almost lost him in my sight, I heard wood starting to crack and… move? I turned around and saw Yamato, who had his left hands up, controlling the wood around us. The wood slowly wrapped around the villain just and saw another figure behind him. I saw a blue orb and heard a loud and obnoxious battle cry.
"Rasengan!" I heard the figure shout. It was Naruto, who else? Gokomatsu's body flew forward as I lifted my knee and slammed it into his guts. His eyes bulged open and he began to cough. Then I grabbed my kunai and shoved it into his throat. Blood began to squirt from his wound and from his mouth. To finish him off, I lifted my leg and slammed it down on his back, sending him plummeting to the ground. I stopped on the branch and heard a loud crash. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Yamato and Naruto chasing after the dying body. I copied their actions and landed on dirt and branches. I looked up and saw the woods were back to its normal state and looked at the man who nearly killed my brother. His body jittered, his eyes were wide open, and he was suffocating. Then I saw his body decompose and light gray smoke was emitted from his body. He turned into a female! I recognized this face; she was the one who attacked me earlier! I ordered Yamato to destroy any evidence of his body and rushed back to Kakashi with Naruto.
As I softly landed on the ground, I saw Gai and Sakura crying. Gai wasn't crying like he would normally do with Lee, but real genuine tears of pain and anguish. Asuma didn't have his usual cigarette in his mouth, Kurenai wrapped her arms around Sakura's well-built body, and Kuro stood there, slightly slouched, with both of his hands shoved into his pocket with his head hung. Kakashi's body lay limp on the slightly moistened dirt and looked like… he was dead. His chest didn't rise and fall from breathing, and his already pale complexion was even paler. I rushed over to Kakashi's body and felt to my knees. My throat tightened as I felt my eyes heat up, tears threatening to spill. No, I can't cry on a mission. I leaned forward to hear my brother breathe. It was barely audible, so soft that it's as if he's not breathing at all.
"Sakura, is this all you can do?" I asked, not looking at the young medical kunoichi.
"Yes…" her voice shook, "There's nothing else I can do to save him…" she sniffed, "my medical training isn't complete to treat a condition for the heart. His heart beats are unstable due to many electrical shocks that he's been put through."
"Well, let's take him back." I ripped my eyes from Kakashi and looked at Sakura and saw her shake her head.
"His body condition isn't stable enough to last him a four hour journey. He'll die in any minute," her voice broke and began to weep again. Then I felt Yamato's chakra signature behind Kuro. Neither of the two men spoke, as if the situation personally told them what was going on. I turned my head and felt a rain drop, soon it began to pour.
"Damnit; why does it have to rain to make the situation even sadder than it already is?" I cried to the sky. I laid my head with my face down on my brother's abdomen and let my tears flow freely. My frustration, my agony, and my pain gripped my throat and I felt myself choke. I coughed.
'My brother did nothing wrong to deserve this! Why did he have to die? I understand that it is part of shinobi life to die but like this? It's just not fair! Why was he given the Sharingan eye! Now he's the target for every nation just because he's not as deadly as the Uchiha brothers!' my mind screamed in pain.
Suddenly, I felt another presence behind the rest of us. It wasn't Yamato, his chakra signature was different and he was already with us. I ignored the person. It seems like this person wasn't the enemy, considering the fact that none of the shinobis moved a finger. I heard Sakura and this mysterious person spoke, but I couldn't make out what they were saying because the heavy rain muffled every sound. Then I heard the mystery person place his or her hand on my right shoulder. I ignored them until the person shook me gently. I lifted my head and saw the ever so famous Jiraya. He told me to step away from Kakashi and I shook my head furiously. Then his strong arms forced my body to my feet and another pairs of arms wrapped around my body. The second pair of arms felt familiar; it was Kuro's. I struggled in Kuro's strong arms and saw Master Jiraya summon a giant toad. Then he gently lifted Kakashi's body and ordered us get on the toad. I hung my head in depression and felt Kuro physically move my body onto the toad. Jiraya ordered the toad to take us back to Konoha ASAP. I felt my body lift and smelled smoke. I looked around and saw the famous Konoha Hokage carving. My eyes widened.
'My brother has a chance of living!' I thought hopefully as I jumped down onto the ground. The medical team already had Kakashi on a gurney and teleported to the hospital. I followed the medical team as I felt the others do the same.
(Hospital)
The hospital reeked of disinfectants, which made me feel high even though I didn't want to feel high. I followed Kakashi into the operation room until the medics told the rescue team and I to stop. I saw Lady Tsunade getting ready to perform a surgery on Kakashi-onii-san. She stole a glance at me and briefly smiled.
"Mission; success," she said and walked into the OR. My body shivered from being soaked to the bones. My body backed up to the wall and I squatted down. I placed my head on my propped-up knees and began to tremble in fear of losing my last member of family. I felt all eight pairs of eyes on me shortly and began to hear soft murmurs and one loud command from one person. The team listened to whoever spoke and felt the other team member's chakra presence disappear. I forced all my senses to block out anything, but wasn't successful. I felt someone tug on my left arm with one hand and forced me to lift my head with the other. Kuro's face was an inch away from mine. I was forced to my aching and sore feet and legs. He teleported us to my house.
(Zoe's House)
"Go take a shower before you get sick." He told me. I didn't feel like taking a shower; I wanted to be there for my brother when he comes out of the OR. Before I could refuse, he added. "That's my first of three commands from our deal." I reluctantly walked into my bathroom and took a hot shower.
After I took a shower, I changed into a bulky, navy blue sweater and black sweat pants. As I walked out of my room, I felt a familiar chakra presence in my kitchen; it was Kuro Ryuuske's. He was no longer soaking wet; he took a shower while I was taking mine. He had black short sleeved shirt with matching color sweatpants. He didn't have his gloves, headband, weapon pouch or the jounin vest. I looked at the digital clock from my kitchen and read 4:52 AM. I sat down and saw a cup in my face. It was a simple honey and lemon tea. I quietly sipped my tea and let my front bang cover my eyes. After I was done with the tea, I stood up and walked to the sink to place the cup into the sink. Just as I turned around, I felt Kuro pull me into a tight hug. One of his arms was around my shoulder area and another around my waist but no where near my breast, unlike last time. I tried to push him off, thinking that I don't need his pity. But I stopped struggling against his strong arms when he spoke these words.
"Just let it out." My eyes widened.
'No! I will not cry in Kuro-hentai's arms…' I thought, but already few tears ran down my cheeks. My throat and chest tightened, like it was ready to explode. My heart rate spiked high and felt my eyes burn. It was like a waterfall. My fear of being alone again, pain that I will have to face and horror that will be displayed before my eyes. I can't handle losing my only brother. My only perverted, lazy, and calm brother who loses his cool when he's concerned about me, dying is just unimaginable. I pressed my face against Kuro's chest and just cried. I loudly wailed and babbled a rant of my fears into his hard and muscled chest.
When what if felt like an hour has passed my crying and mourning softened and tightened my grip around his waist. I gasped and coughed, choking on harmless air and caught my breath. I felt his hand rub my back in a soothing circular motion and felt his head on top of mine. I breathed through my nose, which was runny from all that crying, and reluctantly pulled away from his arms. I will admit; his hugs felt nice and secured. I sniffed and looked into his black eyes. His face bore no expression except concern.
"Thank you… I needed that." I said as I walked to my couch with Kuro by my side. I saw his soft smile with the help of the moonlight that shone through my big glass door. I sat down with Kuro at my left side and his right arm around my shoulder. He pulled me into a one-armed hug whispered into my ears.
"Live your life for your brother… even if he ends up dying, live with a proud heart that he was a hero that protected the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai ability with his life." He paused for a minute and started again. "And I'll always be there for you…" then he gently kissed my forehead, making me blush a number of different shades of red. Then I moved his arm from my shoulder and looked down at my thigh.
"No, you're not always going to be there for me…" I muttered sadly. "You're a shinobi as well. You're going to die in a battle in sometime in your life time."
"You just don't know how good I am," he retorted arrogantly. I faced him and he was smirking at me. He also looked tired.
"You should go to sleep," I stated, "you're probably exhausted from the mission and the emotionally turmoil." He shook his head and leaned close to me. He was leaning so close that both of our bare foreheads were touching and I could feel his warm, sweet and lemony breath.
"I'll sleep when you sleep with me," he winked. I felt my right eyebrow twitching. Then, he added, "You should really get that twitching eyebrow checked out. It might be something serious."
"Something serious, my ass! You pervert! Just go to sleep before you pass out from exhaustion!" I yelled. He just chuckled and tickled my stomach. I slapped my hand on his chest and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To the hospital; I won't be able to sleep with all of the suspense whether or not my brother is going to live or die." I called from my door, putting on my shoes. In an instant, he was by my side. He slammed his right hand on the door, made a loud "bam," and sighed in frustration.
"I probably won't talk you out of this, so I'm coming with you." He muttered darkly.
"I told you to sleep; this is none of your concern. Why do you even bother doing this?" I raised my voice. I found myself cornered by the wall on one side and Kuro and his body on the other. He looked dead serious. His eyes weren't narrows, but the edges of his eyes were slightly elevated and his left hand prevented me from escaping. I narrowed my eyes slightly.
(Warning: little inappropriateness up ahead!)
"Why do I care?" his voice was dangerously low. He leaned closer until his lips met mine. My narrowed eyes widened in surprise and wanted to push him away, but at the same time I didn't. He nibbled on my lips, begging for an entrance and I slowly created a small gap between my lips and his tongue began to roam through my mouth. I let out a moan that disappointed myself and closed my eyes. I ran my left hand through his soft and still somewhat wet locks and kissed him back. He slowly moved his arms and wrapped around my waist. His left hand tried to sneak in under my sweater but I stopped him with my right hand. After thirty seconds, he pulled away with his forehead against mine and breathed softly on my face. He smiled.
(Okay, safe!)
"I care… because I like you Zoe," he whispered in his oh-so-sexy husky voice that literally melted me. I was left speechless and blushing madly. He grabbed my right hand, not even knowing how I felt about him and dragged me outside. "That's why I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," he finished. I ripped my hand from his grip and ran down the empty streets of Konoha.
"Aww, do you not want to hold my hand?" he teased. I narrowed my eyes at him and he simply shrugged and was silent the rest of the way.
(Hospital)
"Excuse me, but is Hatake Kakashi out from his surgery?" I panted as I asked the lady at the reception desk. She looked down at a binder and scanned through the papers. She lifted her head and nodded.
"He's currently placed in room 219." She explained and paused. "But only family members are allowed in."
"I'm his little sister, Hatake Shizen," I looked at Kuro. "He just exists in this world. He's not a family member." I saw Kuro roll his eyes.
"I'm with her," that was the only thing he said to the reception lady. The lady blushed slightly and let in. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Really?" I asked incredibly. He just shrugged.
"The ladies are just nice to me for some reason."
"For some reason?" I asked rhetorically. I briskly walked down the hospital hallway and saw Lady Tsunade standing outside of a certain room, talking to a doctor. She turned and gave me her attention. The doctor bowed his head to Lady Tsunade and dismissed himself.
"Lady Tsunade… how is he?" I asked my eyes widened. She looked down and pressed her lips into a thin line. My heart just lurched from her expression, how am I going to react when she tells me?
"Well… we did all that we could…" she started slowly. "Now it's up to him. His internal organs temporarily stopped functioning, with the exception to his heart and his brain, but we managed to get them started to work in full function in the OR. However, the problem is his heart. When he was electrocuted during the torturing process, the heart reset his heartbeats and ended up beating in an irregular pattern. We managed to get his heart back into its function but his brain is shut down," My body felt number and colder as I slowly digested this information.
"He's not brain-dead but there are not as much as brain activity as it should be. He's in a coma and it's not a coma that I can bring him back." She finished. I swallowed and took a deep breath.
"Ca-can I… see him?" I stuttered with a shaky voice. She nodded and led me to his room. She paused at the door and turned to me.
"But you can only stay for five minutes at the maximum." She stated firmly. I nodded and entered through the door. I saw Kakashi on a white bed with the heart monitor beeping softly on his left side. His navy-blue mask was removed and was replaced with an oxygen mask. The IV drip was attached to his right wrist with three clear liquid filled bags dangling on a pole that was placed to his right side as well. I walked up to his right side and ran left hand through his silver locks. More tears threatened to spill then I thought to what Kuro told me.
"Nii-san… Even if you die I will live proudly, proclaiming that my brother is a hero who protected the famous and dangerous kekkei genkai from foreign enemies." I stopped for a bit, my throat tightened and I let a single tear escape from my right eye. "But please, stay alive. I don't want to go through the same pain when I lost mom…" my voice shook as I continued. "Please try to live. Don't give up on living." I wiped my tears left the room.
(Two months later)
I was able to perform regular shinobi duties despite my heart was aching with nervousness. Not a lot of things happened during the two months while Onii-san was in the coma. Kurenai and Anko constantly tease me and Kuro when we walked down the streets together. I constantly told her that he's just a perverted stalker but Kurenai just shook her head and laughed.
I visited Onii-san regularly. Luckily I wasn't sent on long over-night missions, which I was extremely thankful for, so I was able to visit my brother and talk to him what's been happening while he's out in a coma. Team Kakashi with Yamato and Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai visited as often they could. Iruka, Aoba, and Genma dropped by occasionally. Kuro just tagged along with me but never actually talked to him.
Today, I was called to Lady Tsunade for another mission. I entered into her office and gave her my full attention.
"So, you are to…" she was rudely interrupted by Shizune who barged into the Hokage's office, breathing heavily.
"Lady Tsunade…" she panted and started again. "It's Hatake Kakashi. You have you see his condition right away!" My eyes widened and followed Shizune and Lady Tsunade to the hospital.
(Room 219, Hatake Kakashi)
As I quickly entered after Lady Tsunade, I can hear the panic and rush. The heart monitor was beeping loudly and rapidly. To make the situation a whole lot worse, the heart beat was not consistent! His heart rate increased rapidly and suddenly a single, long and annoying beep was heard. As my brother's heart stopped, mine stopped as well.
Hatake Kakashi flat lined; he was dead.
One heck of a cliff hanger... Will he live? Will he die? Find out next chapter! R&R please!
Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi = an Earth style jutsu that causes cave-ins.
Doton: Doryudan = an Earth style jutsu when a Dragon made of earth releases fast moving mud.
