Chapter 4: Healing
Konohagakure Hospital. A hospital dedicated to the care and healing of ninja no matter where they come from. Said to have some of the best Medical Ninja to date.
Taking matters into his own hands, Ryu saw to it that Sanji got to Konoha Medical personally by carrying him. The rest, Momiji, Sakura and Denroku, followed them in worry that Sanji may be fatally wounded.
As time passes, Ryu waited outside of the room whilst leaning against a wall, his arms crossed.
Momiji sat on the waiting bench, her hands held together, her eyes still teary but less than before. Now was not the time to mourn. She had her hopes that Sanji would turn out okay. The other two children sitting beside her as they waited as well.
Soon enough, Sanji had visitors from an unlikely group. Kakashi and his team had arrived to see if everything turned out all right. Plus, Team 7 may be able to identify the attackers.
"Yo. Sorry we didn't come earlier. I was having a discussion with my team. They may know who could have done such a horrible thing to that child." Kakashi said as he approached Ryu.
Ryu, unfolding his arms, turned his attention to Kakashi then his team.
"Tell me everything you know." A firm reply was given to the young team.
"All we know is that…they're from the Sand Village. They also seem to be siblings. As far as that goes, the only other thing is that, they're only here to enter the Chunin Exams. Maybe they saw them as competition they needed to eradicate." Sasuke replied back with the same firmness in his tone as Ryu had given to them.
"…If that's the case, they may have gotten onto us. They might have gotten information out of Sanji." Ryu thought to himself only to be broken of his focus due to the nurse exiting the room.
"Good news and bad news…" She spoke calmly to the group.
"The good news is, he'll be alright but…the bad news is…we found traces of torn tissue in his leg as well as his arms. The wound he received seemed to have been healed but the damage did not stray. He may never be able to be a ninja after this injury." She continued, saddened to be the bearer of bad news.
Momiji was broken, her eyes widened, tearing and her eyes almost seemingly lifeless.
Ryu too was shocked by the nurse's words, angered as he approached her.
"What do you mean..?!" Ryu angrily asked the Medical Ninja.
"Sir, he is incredibly injured! Do you really expect him to carry out missions in his condition?! I did my best but you need to calm yourself/" The nurse said with a direct tone but with a calm and collected head.
"You may see him now."
Ryu nodded, slowly calming himself as he turned to see Momiji burdened with guilt and despair.
"Momiji….it's okay. You did your best…without your help he would have been dead along with Sakura and Denroku. You saved him and that's all I can ever ask of you." Ryu comforted her, going towards her to try and show her any sign of affection.
She merely stood up, shadows covering her eyes along with her bangs.
"No…Ryu-sensei….I failed. I…I need some time to myself. I'll be back to visit him after you guys are done." She spoke quietly as she turned around, walking off to recollect her thoughts and emotions.
Sighing, Ryu turned to Kakashi and nodded.
"Okay, you three stay out here with the other kids. We'll be out shortly." Kakashi ordered his team as he turned to walk into the room with Ryu.
Momiji was sitting outside of the hospital, dwelling on her failure. She had lost someone very dear to her in the past. Her sister, Kureha, gave her life to protect everyone in the village and even Ryu did the same while risking his life several times over.
"I'm too…weak…. I couldn't even protect him. I'm no Shrine Maiden…I'm not even qualified to be a ninja let alone be Ryu's student." She said as she covered her face, quietly sobbing.
"You can't always protect everything and everyone. Being a ninja doesn't mean to be flawless and protect everyone without mistake." Said a familiar voice as he sat down beside her.
She gasped slightly, looking to see Kakashi sitting next to her with a caring look.
"W-What are you-"
"This is a Shadow Clone. I made it so I could come talk to you while helping Ryu. It sounded like you needed it right now." He spoke calmly to her.
"I see…well, it's not easy for me to accept such a thing…I doubt you would understand. I have expectations to keep up with. Those children look up to me with such praise and I let them get hurt!" She said as she began to tear up.
"Actually, I can understand that pain perfectly. As ninja, yes it's important to keep up with whatever expectations are bestowed upon us but….it's being a ninja isn't about following those expectations. It's about doing the right thing and doing what you can to protecting those that you care for by any means. Today, I saw exactly that in your actions." Kakashi said as he removed his headband from his eye.
"You probably think I'm a great ninja from how everyone talk about me…but the truth is I'm just as much of a failure. This eye is a symbol of courage, power and honor to those who talk great about me but in reality it's nothing more than a reminder of my greatest failure." He said with a smile, showing he had accepted things how they were.
Her eyes, while still teary, held a sudden look of realization and surprise. She saw how sweetly he smiled at her, which gave her a small smile of her own. Wiping her tears, she sniffled and laughed softly.
"T-Thank you…thank you so much…I feel better now." Momiji gladly thanked Kakashi as she gave him a sweet look of gratitude.
"Hey, it's no big deal. As ninja we bear the burden of failing even at our most powerful…but it's from those mistakes that we can truly strive forward. My friend died while giving me this eye and, as much as it does remind me of my failure, it inspires me to see the world of ninja grow into a peaceful place. For him, I made a promise to live and protect what meant the world to him. Though I've failed twice, I haven't given up. Neither should you." Kakashi said to Momiji, convincing her to snap out of her spiraling depressive state.
"Thank you Kakashi-kun. It meant a lot to me…" She said as she suddenly gave him a tight hug.
Not knowing her own strength, Kakashi's clone struggled to breath before exploding into a cloud of smoke, which dissipated.
Blinking, she looked everywhere only to realize his clone was gone.
"Clones always drain me when I use this eye…" Kakashi said whilst sweating.
"So…you told them everything?" Ryu asked Sanji who was wide awake and in bandages.
"Yes…I did. I…I'm sorry Ryu-sama. I never meant to-" Ryu cut him off by placing his hand over his head.
"You only did it to protect your friends, you've done nothing wrong. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, we cannot have you or your friends participate in the Chunin Exams. We've decided that by doing that, we not only endanger you but it'll draw too much suspicion and endanger everyone. We would send you home but…right now, you need to stay here." Ryu said, smiling kindly to Sanji.
"As for your injuries, we had gotten bad news…" Kakashi said to Sanji following up on Ryu's comment.
Time had passed as Momiji returned to the inside of the hospital, sitting beside the rest of the children.
Soon enough, the door opened as they all saw Sanji walking out in casts.
"Hey guys!" Sanji spoke with enthusiasm.
Sakura and Denroku ran toward the injured Hayabusa ninja.
"You're all better now?!" Sakura said, seemingly excited.
"No Sakura…I'm not. Not yet at least! I'll make a good recovery, I promise you." He said, holding a superior demeanor.
Sasuke was rather surprised at his reaction to the bad news.
"Hey, hey! She has the same name as you Sakura-chan!" Naruto said to Sakura, teasing her about it.
"Hmph, I'm just as cute too! I'll admit though…seeing that face really does light up my spirit. He took such an incredible tragedy and turned it into an opportunity." Sakura said as she admired Sanji's personality.
"Yeah! Because no one should give up on their dreams!" Naruto said as he went over to Sanji.
"Right on kid! You got the spirit!" Naruto said with a slight chuckle and a happy grin.
Sanji gazed at him as if his spirits had been raised, grinning and chuckling along with him.
"Great, now there's two of them…" Sasuke said in annoyance.
"What did you say?!" Both Naruto and Sanji said in pure frustration.
Sasuke simply huffed as if he considered himself superior to them.
Kakashi looked at them as a sweat drop formed on his head.
"Sanji, enough. You need to rest now. We'll figure something out I promise you." Ryu said, giving him a soft smile and a nod.
A day had passed and the Chunin Exams were close to beginning.
"We cannot enter the Chunin Exams. I don't have any other options Lord Third. As for the Sand children…for now we leave them be, until the second portion of the exam." Ryu spoke with the Third Hokage, frustrated on how to finish the mission.
"I agree. We'll think of the momentarily and yes…with the boy's injuries we can't run the risk of their endangerment. I would have taken drastic measures but, being form another village, I simply can't put you and your people through such a thing." Hiruzen said in a solemn manner.
"What would that be?" Ryu asked out of curiosity.
"Making you infiltrate them at all costs…but it runs the risk of branding you as a criminal to this land. You're deserving of more than such a selfish request. So instead my alternative is this. You will become a special guest as a spectator. That way you can appear to be here on your own terms and not on ours. The Sand only knows of the Hayabusa clan but not of the village. They know nothing about our ties."
"This could work but we still need to have me on the inside during the second portion of the exams." Ryu inquired to Hiruzen.
"Well I thought that out easily. You'll be paired up with Anko Mitarashi and her team. You'll be able to keep an eye on the Sand ninja and any other suspicious ones." Replied back to Ryu.
"Anko is the name? I need to speak with this person immediately." Ryu said before he realized someone was behind him.
"That'd be me, Mr. Hayabusa~" Spoke a rather flirtatious female voice.
Ryu swiftly managed to take the kunai she held against him and toss it towards the wall.
"Ryu, meet Anko. She's a…playful type. Don't take anything she tries personally." Hiruzen stressed the last very much.
"Wanna speak with me? Meet me on the Training Grounds. I don't trust speaking aloud with possible insurgents roaming around." Anko said as she flickered off and away.
Ryu too did the same thing, disappearing from Lord Third's office, Hiruzen taking a puff of smoke form his pipe as he store out the window.
The two ninja met up on the Training Grounds, Anko standing across from where he soon appeared on.
"So, what do you wanna talk to me about?" Anko asked, grinning as she placed her hand on her hip.
"Well, I am to be paired up with you. I nee-" He was suddenly cut off.
"Wait. Before you do, take off the mask." Anko requested of Ryu.
"Why? What purpose does it serve?"
"Just take it off dammit! I need to see your face to be able to trus-" She suddenly stopped as he took off his helmet, revealing his youthful face.
Her cheeks were red; her face was comical and a bit of blood was seeping from her nose.
"KYA!~ I knew you were handsome! I just had to see it for myself!~" She said as she looked absolutely perverted in the face.
Ryu shuddered, his face having a funny annoyed look. He then cleared his throat.
"As I was saying, I need to discuss the matters which revolve around my mission." Ryu continued from where he was cut off.
Anko, coming up against him, placed her hand on his chest.
"Go on~ I'm listening~" She said playfully.
"Anyways…we need to keep a lookout on suspicious ninja. I assume Hiruzen told you mostly about the situation." Ryu said, ignoring Anko's signals to focus on the mission at hand.
Taking notice of it, she embarrassingly removed herself from Ryu's body and rubbed the back of her head.
"Ah, yes. Of course! Well…for you, I'll make an exception and watch really hard. As long as you promise that we can spar any time. I hear you're a Master Ninja. That's very impressive for someone as young as you. Show me a few of those moves when you can and we got a deal!" She said giving him a thumb up and a wink, grinning happily just as Naruto does.
"Thank you. As for the sparring, I can do that on my off time." He said smiling softly.
"All I can say to you is, I won't hold back when we do spar." His smile became a confident smirk as he walked away.
While doing so, he formed a single handsign, which made leaves form around him and slowly make him vanish.
As the day progressed, the Chunin Exams had already begun in it's first phases. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura managed to pass the test but not without it's fair share of stress inducing tricks.
Sasuke quickly figured out that it was a test to see how easily someone could gather information from someone else without getting caught. Sakura herself managed to use what she learned to get by and as for Naruto…. he managed to pass by doing what he usually does. He stated even if he failed he's still find a way to become Hokage, no matter what it took. He left his sheet blank but was passed due to how determined he was. Ibiki was even surprised himself.
Soon after, the next phase began. They had to enter the Forest of Death. The task was to get both Heaven and Earth scrolls to the finishing area with all of their team members intact.
Anko was the one who gave them the instructions about the second phase. Naruto, of course, showed off his confidence in which caused Anko to cut his cheek with her kunai. Scaring him by saying how boys like him are the first to die in the Forest. She then reacted to a strange looking man who gave her back her kunai via his very long tongue.
After some time passed, Anko was busy waiting for Ryu. Meanwhile another ninja had approached her.
"Anko-san, we need you to come look at something. It's something very…strange."
"Hm? What do you mean?" She asked curiously.
They took her to see three ninja, identified as three Grass Ninja, who all were found dead along with their faces gone.
"Their faces have been taken from them…it can't be…him…" She said thinking to herself as she felt her curse mark.
"I found these three and alerted the ninja to alarmed you. I have a bad feeling about this…" Ryu spoke as she turned to find him dressed much differently than usual.
He was wearing a unique outfit to help him blend in without getting caught easily. He wore his mask and scarf as well as his body armor but his pants seemed more traditional for a shinobi. He didn't have his helmet on which showed off his hair and eyes much more casually. His gauntlets remained on as well.
"Sorry I'm late." He said with a serious look on his face.
Anko had that same expression like she did yesterday, except with an unexpected annoyed face.
"A-Ahem! Yes, we should go and quick. You two, alert ANBU right away." She commanded the other two ninja who nodded and left off.
"Ryu…I fear that my old master might be here. I don't know why but this is bad news if he is. He became a rogue ninja after being caught experimenting on our fellow ninja. If he gets ahold of any of these kids he might…-" Anko said in a frantic state.
"Anko, it'll be alright. We won't let that happen. Calm yourself and we'll head out." He said putting his hand out.
Seeing his gesture, Anko nodded and looked confident.
"Fine but after this I want you to take me out for Dango!" She soon ordered him out of excitement as well as arrogance, coming off as commanding while being sweet about it.
"Sounds like a plan." Ryu said as he took off into the forest with Anko.
What awaited would soon make sense to Ryu in his quest to foil the Sand ninja's plot…but what they'll find shall be unexpected.
Hey everyone!~ Back with another chapter! Man this is going better than I imagined, in terms of writing this. Of course I'm running the risk of rushing things and I'm always worried about that v-v but the creativity has been flowing so much that I can't help but write the next chapter as soon as I can! So I hope you're all liking this series so far and I hope the changes fit well into the story ;-;
Also, Ryu's second outfit is the Spirit of the fighter outfit from Ninja Gaiden 3 as well as DOA5 with added chest armor XD so it'd make sense and Ryu wouldn't get injured so easily. That's not to say it can't and won;t come off either~ 3 Anyways! Enjoy this chapter! ^^