LUCID – TOOK ILL
The Dream World, Hinata's Room
Hinata woke atop her bed, still in the same clothes as the night before. She raised her head up, noticing that once again the weather was sunny and beautiful. The sun shone through the gap in the curtains, creating a thin wall of light across the room. Across the other side of that wall was Nikko, her husband. He hadn't changed either, he was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes barely open.
Nikko was looking out the window through the gap in the curtains, he had noticed that his wife had woken up but he hadn't said anything. A quick glance was all he offered. That garden that they had always wanted to wake up to each morning, this beautiful wall of sun that had always filled their lives with joy, it seemed so much sadder than it always had before, at least to him.
Hinata spun around, sitting upright on the bed and looking downwards for a few moments. It was all so much to take in for her. A child, how could she not remember it if she had a child. How could all of this have happened without her knowing, how could she remember so much about Naruto and nothing about this? "How long have you been waiting" she asked, getting to her feet and walking around to sit on the short-end of the bed.
"All night" he said, his gaze unwavering, "I wanted to make sure that you were alright, even if you don't want to be here".
The way he phrased it was so painful. Clearly, whether it be truth or lies, this world was using everything it had its disposal to pull her in. Every time she rejected the dream world it hurt. Every time she had accepted it, it had felt incredible.
"This world is a dream". Hinata reasserted her viewpoint once again. Perhaps in some part of her mind she understood how dire the situation was, that this world was a forbidden fruit, designed only to tempt her.
"No, this is reality, it just seems like a dream because of the disease". Nikko looked away from the window for the first time, once more looking Hinata in the eye. His former tiredness had seemed to wash away, replaced by a look of anger. His eyes were wide open. "This incredible life that you lead, it's because you earned it yourself".
"You can't earn good luck" Hinata said. Between herself and Naruto, they had felt so much suffering. Even the world's most revered shinobi, who had never given up, had lost people close to him. "Luck is… Luck is only guaranteed in dreams".
"It's not a dream".
"That child…". The child was somewhat of a deal-changer for Hinata. Anyone finds it hard to bring themselves to reject a child. The fact that this young boy called her his mother, that made it all the more difficult.
"That child is your son" Nikko shouted. He could tolerate any misgivings Hinata had towards himself but their son was a different matter for him.
"No, that isn't possible" Hinata said, her head shaking from side-to-side. She was in complete denial. "That can't possibly be my son".
"He is your son. He just is". It seemed that even the dream world gentleman could get flustered. "You can even ask your sister if you want, she's downstairs right now". Hanabi had been helping Nikko to take care of his son during Hinata's recent bout of illness.
"Hanabi is here?".
Nikko drew his eyes to the side, looking away with a sigh. "So, you remember her". It had seemed from his point of view, that Hinata could remember everyone other than those most important to her. "She's downstairs, I will go and get her if you want".
"Please".
A few minutes passed while Nikko went downstairs to ask Hanabi for help. He seemed to have run out of options, unable to get through to his own wife. Hinata was excited though, she felt like she hadn't met Hanabi in years, though struggled to remember why. Perhaps her sister would be different to everyone else, perhaps she would believe her.
The door creaked open and a young woman stepped through, her whitened eyes clearly marking her as a child of the Hyuuga clan. Hinata was thrilled in her heart, this was definitely Hanabi.
"Hanabi" she called out, running over to her sister and giving her a tight hug.
For a few moments, Hanabi hugged her back lightly, comforting her. Whether her behaviour was acceptable or not, Hinata was recognised to be ill by the residents of this world. "Hello Hinata" she said, releasing her sister and grabbing her by the arms, "I hear that you don't believe he is your son".
"Hanabi, this s a dream world" Hinata felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall, hoping for it to fall. "Please, you have to help me".
"This isn't a dream world sis, this is real" Hanabi said, her eyes showing the same sadness that Nikko's had been every time Hinata had discussed this previously. "He really is son, he is I promise and Nikko is your husband".
"No. I've never met him before" Hinata replied, turning her back and walking back over to her bedside table, looking at the photo album she had attempted to throw away previously. "These pictures are all dreams, they are all fake".
"Sis…".
"Please, you have to remember the other world" Hinata begged, hoping that there is just one spark of a memory in her sister's mind. "Uzumaki Naruto, you know Uzumaki Naruto right".
"Uzumaki Naruto doesn't exist".
"Naruto saved you from Toneri" Hinata yelled, snapping at her sister. "Naruto saved the world in the 4th great shinobi war. He's the village's hero".
"There hasn't been a 4trh war" Hanabi answered, shaking her head as if speaking to a foolish child, "This is all in your head".
"I'm begging you, you have to remember".
"No sister, you are the one who is forgetting things. You have a husband and a son out there". Hanabi pointed her finger at the door, furiously waving it. She had been angered by knowledge that Hinata didn't have. Knowledge of her son's current condition. "I'm begging you, yo have to be strong for him".
Hinata shook her head again. "No… no… I… I…".
Illness struck once more. Hinata fainted.
The Cave
Hinata immediately woke up in the cave. It was looking worse than ever here. The heat, the light, it was like a scene straight out of hell. A barrier was being put up against that hell, a thin wall of light which could just barely be made out. Hinata was getting quicker at adapting back to reality. She was beginning to become calmer, to understand what was going on. Unlike her previous times when she woke up here, this doesn't feel so uncontrolled anymore. This time is a controlled dream.
This place couldn't truly be hell though. Not while there was still one person keeping that barrier up, one person here still looking after her, one person here who loved her. That was of course, Naruto. His breaths were heavier than before, he looked as if he was trying some sort of respiratory technique to maintain his stamina. His back was completely drenched in sweat. He didn't seem depressed though, his resolve seemed strong to her, like he could hold on for a million years if he needed to. That is just the sort of person that he was to Hinata.
"Naruto…" she called out… "Naruto… Naruto…". She was struggling to raise her voice much. For all the control she had this time, it was her body that was failing her, her voice specifically.
Upon hearing the voice, Naruto didn't hesitate, immediately moving as fast as he could to Hinata's side. He gripped hold of her hand tightly, just like that day and did everything he could to let her know that he was there waiting for her. "I'm here Hinata" he said, moving her hair from her eyes with his other hand.
"This is real isn't it" she asked. Though, it was unlikely he would admit to it, even if this world weren't real. "Is that really you, Naruto?".
"Yes" he answered, nodding his head furiously. "Yes, this is the real world. I'm really Naruto, I promise". He touched his head against her palm, as if praying to an invisible deity hidden in her soul. Frankly though, he was relieved, Hinata was awake.
"It feels so dream-like" Hinata said. While she felt like she had more control over her senses this time, the symptoms still persevered. A blurriness in her eye, the echo of Naruto's voice each time he spoke. The symptoms this time though, they were a bit weaker than previous times.
"Naruto… could you tell me about our past".
Hinata's sudden question caught Naruto off-guard slightly. Their past hadn't always been happy, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Hinata of any sad stories in this moment. He decided that he had to do what he could and simply tell Hinata what he thought she would want to hear.
"We first fell in love during the incident with the moon" he explained, omitting any of the specific unpleasant details involving Hanabi's capture and Toneri. "I think I loved you before that but I never really knew how to express it. Oh, and you gave me a scarf around that time. A wonderful knitted scarf".
Naruto reached into his pocket, fumbling around looking for something to show Hinata. "I'm afraid that scarf got ruined during a fight but you made me another one and I still have it here with me". Naruto showed the scarf to Hinata, explaining that he treasured it and took it with him wherever he went.
"Yes" Hinata whispered. She would have closed her eyes and pictured the moment in different circumstances, she didn't want to fall asleep though. "I remember knitting that scarf".
"On our first date we ate ramen" Naruto explained, recalling that most of their friends seemed to be mysteriously nearby. "We didn't have to pay, I think everyone was trying to make it go well secretly". There were often offered to eat for free in restaurants regardless, many people were unendingly grateful to Naruto for his actions in the war.
"On our second date we went dancing" he said. That had been Hinata's suggestion. "I was kind of bad but I tried my best honestly". Admittedly, neither Hinata nor Naruto were particularly great dancers, they both enjoyed it when they could though.
Hinata laughed under her breath. "Who would have thought such a skilled shinobi could be so uncoordinated on the dance floor". Naruto had to spend most of their second date apologising having fallen into other people in the dance hall. They became rather quick to forgive him when they realised who he was.
"In the other world they claimed my wedding dance was perfect" she explained, "A dance with the ocean".
Naruto was naturally hurt by hearing this. He knew that there dancing had never been perfect in Hinata's eyes. "That world isn't real Hinata, I'm sorry but our dancing will still require a lot of work before it's perfect. Still, I want to keep practicing with you, I never thought I could have fun doing something like that".
"The other world makes seem so perfect".
Naruto paused, taking a moment to recover from the emotional beating he was being dealt. "Hinata, you have to hold onto the real world, please. Otherwise that perfect dance will never be reality, it will just be a dream".
"There is something else I… I have to tell you" she said.
"What is it?".
"In other world, there was a child" Hinata was reluctant to tell Naruto these things, she didn't want to hurt him but felt that she owed it to him to be honest.
"A child?".
Nodding, she continued, "My child".
"Hinata… it's not…".
"He was such a beautiful child" she said, smiling before once more, drifting off to sleep, fainting.
"Hinata" Naruto whispered. He knew in his heart that she had always wanted children. It was just another genius move by the genjutsu caster, a move designed not only to get to Hinata but to get to him.
The Dream World, Hinata's Room
Hinata woke up on the bed once again. She was starting to get used to this. She felt like she would never leave this room again in the dream world, like perhaps she should have been put into some sort of care. The sun wasn't peering in through the curtains this time, they were wide open but it was dark. The night had descended. Sitting up, Hinata realised that once again, someone had stayed to look after her. Hanabi.
Hanabi looked even more irritated than Nikko. It seemed that when pushed she could really lose her temper. At least that's how it seemed to Hinata at the time. The elder Hyuuga sister wasn't to know that there were other circumstances at play, circumstances that made what she had done seem like particularly poor behaviour.
"Is this the dream world or the real world?" Hinata asked, rubbing her eyes as she got up from the bed. She didn't feel like she had been resting, no, it had been a restless sleep.
"This is the real world" Hanabi answered.
Hinata looking around quickly questioned this, she was sure that this place had been the dream world. Although her senses were getting clearer in the other world, the more time she spent in the dream world, the more she grew accustomed to it. The more she adjusted and integrated into its pattern of reality. She didn't know why she asked retrospectively, everywhere she went people told her that she was in the real world. Who was she supposed to believe.
"This is the world where your husband and child are waiting for you" Hanabi said, remembering clearly that her sister believed this world to be fake.
Hinata was sure, certain that this world wasn't real at one point. She cast her mind to the other world, to Naruto, to her friends. She was sure that she remembered everyone in the other world. That must have been real, this place couldn't have been real. She shook her head, holding it in her hands in despair. "No, no, no, no, this isn't the real world, this is the dream world".
Hanabi was no longer angry, just sad, Hinata could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. They definitely looked real, the sadness in the room didn't feel fake or misplaced. "Sister, please, you have to stop saying that. This is the real world, we all want our Hinata back".
"I'm not the same Hinata" she said, almost an apology rather than a rebuttal. "My son, my husband, we're not really all what you guys think. They're not real, I've never met them before".
"Do you even realise what has happened" Hanabi said, her hand frantically pointing at the door. "Do you even realise why your husband and your son aren't here right now?".
"What are you talking about?". Hinata was definitely confused, how could she know what had happened, even if this was the real world, she couldn't have found out while unconscious.
"Your son has been taken ill. He's in the hospital right now" Hanabi explained. "Don't you remember that he ran in screaming last night. He's been feeling unwell for over a day now and Nikko had to take him to hospital while you were out".
Hinata didn't know what to say.
"You may not remember him Hinata, but you're his mother and your shouting about he isn't even real, how could you do that?".
The elder sister hesitated for a minute. Even if Naruto wasn't real, even if he was a dream figure that she made up, she wanted to do what he would have done. She wanted to do the right thing. "I… I… I'm going to go…".
"Sister?".
"I'll go" Hinata said, raising her head to look her sister in the eyes, "I want to see him".
Hanabi smiled, she knew she shouldn't in the present situation but she couldn't help it. "Alright, that's good, really good, we'll go and see him now".
The Dream World, The Hospital
Nikko and Hinata waited outside the examination room, looking in through the clear window at Sakura and their son. Nikko had asked to enter the room with him but given his condition, Sakura didn't want to risk any diseases being spread if it was contagious. Their son was to come into contact with as few people as possible, that was Sakura's request.
She exited the room, looking at the married couple with a sigh. Nikko was her teammate, her friend and he had to bring his two dearest family members to her in recent days. She knew he must be having a hard time of it.
"Well, he came in and his condition was bad at the time" Sakura explained, "It seems that he got poisoned when he cut himself, probably on one of your old kunai or something".
Nikko knew how Hinata must have felt upon hearing this. She was the only active shinobi in the house, it was almost certainly her that was at fault. "Hinata…".
"I'm sorry" Hinata said, fidgeting with her hands as she tried to think of the words to explain, "I don't remember things at the moment, I must have left it somewhere he could…".
She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, a reassuring hand. "It's fine" Nikko said, "I'll make sure he can't do anything dangerous with your stuff when we go home, OK?".
Hinata nodded reluctantly before making a concession to the dream world she wasn't sure she should. A concession she made out of instinct. "Can I see him?" she asked.
"Of course".
Hinata entered the room, looking at her son who had been unwell previously. She didn't know if he truly was her son but if he was, she hadn't been there for him when he needed her most.
The young red-haired child looked up at Hinata, confusion clear in his deep blue eyes. "Mommy…" he said.
That was it for Hinata, she couldn't take it. She fell to her knees before the child, hugging him tightly. She had made mistakes before but never one this important. Whether it be because this is the real world, or because this is the dream world, what happened to her son was a big changing point in her life.
"I'm sorry" she said, tears falling from her eyes onto the top of her son's head, "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault".
"Mommy, can we go home?".
"Of course we can, that's we're going" she nodded, pulling back to look him in the eyes, "We're going back home right now, OK".
"OK".
The Cave
Naruto found himself completely alone. He didn't know what to say, so he spoke to the person he always felt he could talk to. He spoke to Hinata. Although she wasn't awake, her presence was more comforting to him than anyone else could be. He thought about what he said to her the last time she was awake, about their past.
"You know, I think that all the times we've spent together have been great". Thinking the sentence through after saying it, he realised that wasn't true. During Pain's attack on the village, the certainly suffered through a lot together.
"Maybe things have gone wrong and it's been less than perfect but we've had fun all the same" he said, smiling at the memories. "Every time we tripped over each other's feet may have seemed clumsy but it was fun because we would always catch each other".
He continued. "And ramen may not have been the food of fantasy but it was always fun competing to see who could more. Even if I did always lose".
As Hinata lay motionless, Naruto snickered to himself. "I suppose I could never compete with a dream".
"I thought combating dreams was what we're famous for" a voice called from over his shoulder.
Naruto turned around, behind him was a man roughly the same height as himself. He had a cloak that hid his body from the neck down and jet-black hair with eyes to match. Of course, only one person could get to him here, through this heat.
Uchiha Sasuke.
"I'm sorry I took so long to get here" Sasuke said as he walked over and inspected Hinata with his rinnegan.
The rinnegan and Sasuke never failed to impress Naruto. Very few people in history had manifested this eye and Sasuke was the first one who fought with Naruto as an ally. The eyes of the sage of six paths, anyone would feel comforted looking into them. Unless you were going to fight against him.
"Any thoughts?".
"It's a genjutsu" Sasuke said bluntly, immediately making Naruto question his decision to bring him here. Sometimes Sasuke seemed to say everything as if it were obvious. When it was it seemed patronising, when it wasn't it seemed insulting. Despite this, the two of them actually got along rather well. "I've never seen a genjutsu like this before".
"That doesn't sound good" Naruto said.
Sasuke had travelled the entire world. After his evil deeds of the past, he decided to use his power to fight for a better future. There had been threats to security since the 4th war, but it had usually been Sasuke who had resolved them. If he, who had seen more of the shinobi world than anyone else, didn't have any recollection of similar techniques to this one, it must have been very rare and unusual indeed.
Sasuke placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder, focusing his chakra on the point of contact. 'Release'.
The overwhelming burst of chakra did nothing.
Sasuke looked up to see Naruto glaring at him. "Sorry, I'm guessing you already tried that". It was an unusual thought for the Uchiha, that someone with an equally astonishing level of chakra would be present at the scene.
A laugh resounded in the minds of the two shinobi. Tetsuya was contacting them again. "And now Uchiha Sasuke is here too… it seems we are outfoxing the two mightiest shinobi in the lands".
"Who are you?" Sasuke sent back.
"Seta Tetsuya, leader of the rogue shinobi. We are the chaos that will rise from the ashes of the order you two have built". Tetsuya was making a righteous proclamation, it had been a long time since anyone showed such confidence before Sasuke. "Still, I thought you would put up more of a resistance, would you like a hint? Hahaha".
"You bastard…".
Sasuke interrupted, placing his hand in front of Naruto as a gesture to stop. "Go for it" he said, he didn't mind swallowing his pride if it would earn an extra bit of information.
"We are now on day 4 of Hinata's dream" he explained, "If she hasn't woken up by day 7, she will die".
"Hyuuga Hanabi is missing and you are the presumed cause, is she dead".
Sasuke's question embarrassed Naruto slightly, in the present circumstances his attention had been entirely on Hinata, he had forgotten her sister had gone missing.
Tetsuya laughed at them, "No more hints I'm afraid".
"Well then" Sasuke began an analysis, "There are two ways to break this genjutsu. Either Hinata works out the trick to it. Or I kill the caster".
"It's a good thought but you will never be able to find us".
Naruto feared this to be the case, they must be well hidden if they avoided detection by himself and Sasuke up to this point.
"You have covered your tracks well, not even Naruto or I have been able to find you" Sasuke admitted, mirroring his friend's thought process, "But it seems that you have left me with a golden chance, a loose end".
Sasuke walked out of Naruto's barrier, manifesting the ribcage of a Susano to protect himself while doing so. He then, step by step, calmly approached the source of the heat. It was as if Maro had no effect on him.
"Maro will never talk" Tetsuya barked, "He is determined enough to endure this pain, he can endure anything".
"Is that what you think, he can endure anything" Sasuke was clearly mocking the rogue leader. "It seems that you still have a lot to learn".
"Allow me to show you… the power of a true genjutsu…".
The Dream World
Hinata came home with Nikko and their son. This was her first time approaching their house from the outside. It was subtle and quaint, just like she had always wished for in her future. She wondered if that sort of things would be possible with Naruto, he was almost certainly going to become Hokage, after all.
Heading inside, Hinata didn't know where any of the light switches were but Nikko pushed past her and threw the lights on. As she hadn't been in this house in the real world, nothing seemed inverted to Hinata, it wasn't backwards like the rest of the world appeared to be. In that sense, it truly did feel like a home.
Nikko put his hand on her shoulder, beginning to scour through the rooms on the ground floor. "I'm going to search the house to make sure that everything is safe for him".
"The window, behind me and to the left" Hinata said.
Nikko looked in that direction. "Wow" he whispered to himself, walking over and picking up the kunai which had been left next to the window. "Did you remember putting it there?".
"No". Hinata smiled, opening her eyes to reveal her Byakugan. "I just have good eyesight". She had to admit, being the cool shinobi in the family certainly felt cool, if nothing else.
"Why don't you put him to bed and tell him a story" Nikko said, pushing hard for Hinata to accept the world just a bit more.
"Yeah" she said, nodding gently, "Yeah I can do that".
She took her son upstairs and asked him what kind of story she usually told him.
"You normally make one up" he said.
"Oh OK". She had hoped for a bit more guidance than that, she had never been a great story teller before. That was something she really struggled with.
She thought to herself about the best stories she had ever heard. She hadn't really been told many good stories when she was a child herself. She hadn't heard any other parents tell stories either. She sighed under her breath, betting that Naruto would be good at telling stories to children, that he would share the same enthusiasm for a story that he would expect others to get out of it.
Then she smiled, she definitely knew one good story.
"There was once a great hero".
"A young man who everyone looked down upon and spurned".
"They treated him like dirt, like a germ".
"He was urged by demons hidden in his soul, they urged him to take revenge, to get his own back on them".
"However, the young man didn't want revenge, he wanted to be respected, so he fought, he scratched and he clawed".
Hinata looked at the awe-inspired expression on her son's face, evidently this story was quite appealing to him.
"He tried everything he could to get stronger, to earn their respect".
"Then a great war came to the world and when nobody else could win, that hero rose to the occasion".
"He saved the world and became the most respected man alive, all because he never gave up".
Hinata smiled to herself, whether that world was something she dreamt up, whether that world was real, the story of Uzumaki Naruto was definitely her favourite.
"I've never heard this story before" her son said, looking up from on his pillow, "Is that hero real".
A vision came to Hinata, a vision of Naruto struggling to keep up that barrier, to protect her in the other world.
"I… I… I… no" she said, "I only dreamt him up".
Leaving the room, she came face to face with her husband once again. Clearly Nikko was satisfied with today's progress. When the day started, neither of them had expected it to end with Hinata being so accepting of her son.
"So, do you still believe this world isn't real?" Nikko asked.
"I don't know" she admitted, her memories of Naruto still vividly in her mind. "But… I want to believe… at least I want to believe… that my love for my son is real".
Nikko smiled, hugging Hinata. This time the Hyuuga clanswoman didn't shy awake from the hug, just accepting it. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to accept the world around her.
"I'll be in the guest room if you need anything" Nikko said, releasing his wife and heading to the spare bedroom. "I'll see you tomorrow".
Hinata quietly crept into her room, minding the squeaking door with her son asleep she quickly fell into her bed. It only took a few moments for her to fall asleep, though she had barely been awake today she felt exhausted. No sooner than she fell asleep in the dream world, she awoke in the real world.
The Cave
"Naruto" Hinata called as soon as she woke up. Her voice was much stronger this time, as was her consciousness. It was like she was learning to control her dream state. The blurriness had decreased, the echo was quieter. "Be honest, is this world real".
Every time she questioned the existence of his world, it pained Naruto. He had spent years doing his best to look after this world, he hadn't always been successful but he had never given up. He always thought that counted for something.
"Hinata, this is the real world" he said. He made eye contact in an attempt to reassure Hinata but could feel that it wasn't having as much affect as he wanted. "You have to hold onto this world no matter what, no matter how good the other world seems".
"Could you hug me?".
Naruto was delighted to do so. He hugged Hinata tightly, never wanting to let go.
She smiled. 'Yes, I feel something with Naruto that I don't with Nikko… is this sensation love'. Her smile quickly disappeared when her other family member popped into her head. That young boy, she had felt something when she spoke with him. 'Naruto is amazing, he understands things the rest of us don't, he'll be able to tell me'.
"Naruto".
"Yes?".
"What exactly is love?".