A/N: I apologize already for the flashback in this chapter after I said I had finished with them- it's just that the story sort of needed it to explain the things that are to happen next.
Also this chapter was around double that of the usual length I write so I decided to split it into two chapters, the second of which I will post in the next few days because most of it is already written.
"Present Speech"
'Present Thought'
"Past speech"
'Past thoughts'
"Past Kyuubi speech"
Chapter 7: Past and Present
"Sakura, you're not supposed to use your strength against your own team mates."
During the time Kakashi had spent scolding the clearly guilty kunoichi he had managed to rummage within the pack to his side and produce one of the infamous books from the 'Icha-Icha' series, the product of the grand pervert himself, Jiraiya, the fact he was reading them making things quite bad in Sakura's argument, especially when all it did was tattoo 'pervert' over her teacher's forehead. She was sorely tempted to rip the book from his hands and force Sasuke next to her to burn it but decided against it after envisioning what might happen- she would probably be dead before she had even managed to make a small rip in a page. However even with this she didn't want to be made wrong and the unconscious Naruto she had dragged here effectively right in what he had labeled the lazy jounin, so hearing what her team mate said next was far from wanted.
"You know Sakura he is always reading those books that Jiraiya-san wrote…and we all know he is the greatest pervert of them all…"
The fatal flaws of the Uchiha was made clear once he was found unprepared on two fronts; for one, he certainly wasn't ready to stand his ground to the deathly glare that the hot-headed female shot at him, already shrinking in his seat and wishing the coward's route of being unconscious on the floor instead of Naruto. His second error was the fact he didn't predetermine the fist that collided with his face, stumbling back from the blow to see a clearly irritated female while rubbing his cheek, already feeling a bruise beginning to form. Even after this his punishment had not yet finished for his voiced thoughts, the last gift being that of a cold glare that seemed to even make him feel it would be better dead than have to deal with this person, thankful that at that particular moment she was distracted by her previous victim waking up from her attack earlier.
At first Naruto struggled to open the eyes that wished to remain closed, only able to pry them apart before quickly shutting them again in reaction to the sudden burst of light, the azure orbs peering out once more after they had adjusted to his new surroundings. He slowly pushed himself into a seated position to find his teacher sitting quite happily upon the stump he had been placed- or dragged, as he found from the state of his clothes- receiving a rather joyful wave as he returned back to consciousness, his hand soon brushing the back of his head as he felt a stab of pain occur from that area, soon coming across a rather sore lump as his fingers passed across it. He was quite confused as to how he had ended up in the training grounds when he most certainly thought he was last in the hospital, soon glancing down at his exposed shoulder as he pushed the orange material aside noting only a faint scar from where his stitches had been.
'Did the Kyuubi do this? I don't even remember…'
"Hey dobe, you alright?"
As his eyes wearily drifted to the source of the voice he also passed a rather frustrated female with an obvious look of contempt for someone on her face which he assumed was for him since he was where her stare was directed, unable to stop himself cocking his head to one side just as a confused child would do, wondering what he could have done to anger her. Yet as he moved on from the kunoichi he found his gaze suddenly blurred by an ebony infused mass that seemed to be the reason he was being shook side to side, just able to make out a pair of black eyes boring into his own as he attempted to place the person to a name, only to reel back in horror, forcing himself as far away as he could only to be stopped by the lone stump behind him.
"Sa…Sasuke? GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Sasuke watched as he fell backwards scrambling around the obstacle blocking his path having fallen himself upon the grass from the blonde's sudden outburst, watching in a mixture of shock and confusion as his team mate gathered himself to his feet and sprinted to the other side of the training grounds before settling down in the shade of one of the larger oak trees, tucking his knees to his chest while expressing a fearful gaze. He didn't understand what might have caused such a reaction and in turn glanced at Sakura in hopes of an answer but only finding she was as in the dark as he was, knowing from the fact that she was mimicking his shock was a clear sign that she didn't know much either, her eyes saddening at the sight of their broken team mate, obviously regretting her punching him an hour before, thinking she had brought upon this change of state. In the end he resorted to his teacher sitting upon the infamous stump that participated in the bell test back when they were genin, noticing the concern filtering through the man's usually happy persona, something that he didn't get to see often.
"Eh Kakashi-sensei… what's up with Naruto?"
There was a tense silence before the jounin replied, obviously thinking during that time at which words were right to use in the current situation, not wanting to alarm any of his students, nor spark off something in the blonde that would make him run off.
"It seemed that Sakura's punch did a little more than just knock some sense into him- it seems it has also jogged a memory he had purposely forgotten for your sake."
Flashback – Back at Konoha Hospital
Over the next month after the successful retrieval of the missing-nin frequent visits were made by the Hokage to the hospital room containing the lone jinchuriki, the Uchiha having since left a few weeks prior to be looked after at home by her apprentice, Sakura. Her heart faltered each time she entered the sterile room to find no change just like the numerous days before, the cold melody of the heart monitor the only indication that the body laying silent in the bed was still alive, but still far from consciousness. Her hopes that he may suddenly rouse died slowly with each day that passed, knowing that not even her superior knowledge as the village's best medic-nin was not enough to know what was wrong with the man as he slept soundly through each day and night. Medically speaking Naruto was fine- all that was strange was the fact that he had yet to wake up, even with her at his side at most nights. She knew that she would only ever watch him dream during these times but felt uncaring for this notion, especially when the only times she had willingly dreamt she found herself listening to the flatline of the heart monitor and a seemingly dead Naruto, waking up with a start only to realize the even had not actually happened. Tsunade could only take so much of these feigned deaths so instead resorted to barely sleeping while the young kitsune remained to do so, faithfully gazing over the light rise and fall of his chest just like his mother would do if she were still alive.
"Still no change, eh?"
At the sound of the new voice the addressed Hokage turned to see the infamous 'closet pervert' which Naruto had lovingly labeled, crouching upon the nearby tree that grew just outside of the hospital, the branch on which he was sitting having grown close to the room the unconscious blonde and herself was in. She shook her head somberly in reply, her gaze soon drifting from the fellow sannin back to the hospital bed, her heart wishing that he would look at her through those azure eyes she so dearly loved.
Without an invitation Jiraiya entered through the open window and seated himself upon the vacant bed adjacent to Tsunade, his own gaze soon wandering after the female's with a similar sorrowed expression at the sight of his fallen student. He knew that something had to be severely wrong for the best medic-nin Konoha had to offer not to diagnose; the fact that the person who had stumped this particular renowned individual was Naruto escalated the situation into a minor catastrophe.
"There is nothing stopping him from waking up- by all means he should have been up and out of here at the latest a week after he was admitted. At first I thought it was just blood loss and chakra exhaustion, but I think he is doing this to himself. It's like he doesn't want to wake up."
Naruto's Mindscape
"Kit are you ever going to answer these people? They're voices are driving me insane and from behind here I can't eat nor can I kill them to shut them up- I might have a chance if you hurry up and wake up though. And stop pacing brat! You're worse than those two old bags."
As the named figure paused momentarily in their stride they turned to the pair of glaring eyes focusing upon them, merely standing there even under the killing intent the fox was emitting. He expressed no ounce of fear or contempt for the demon that lay behind both seal and iron, thinking about how to answer leaving the silence battling the heavy breathing of the Kyuubi without adding in his usual shuffling pace.
"No I'm not, so deal with it."
The caged demon growled in annoyance at his answer, the glare soon amplifying once the water began to cut into his usual peaceful surrounding as it got kicked into the air as their pace once again resumed. Naruto either didn't care or enjoyed the Kyuubi's frustration as he continued to repeatedly walk the length of the room, stopping of his own accord as two familiar voices once again flooded into the space which both he and the fox now shared, frowning as he listened in on there conversation.
"Tsunade, why would Naruto not want to wake up? Surely not because of that Uchiha kid- not after what he's done. Anyway I heard Naruto used his completed Rasengan upon Sasuke…it should have killed him if it connected."
Naruto's expression instantly darkened at the mention of his former comrade's name, a scowl appearing on his lips as his own contempt for the particular shinobi grew. The very last few words the frog-sannin spoke were drowned out with the fresh growl the Kyuubi emitted due to the resumed pacing but at a slower pace, not wanting to disturb the water too much so that he could still listen.
Naruto's Hospital Room: Jiraiya and Tsunade's Conversation
"I don't know if he used it or not but I found when I examined Sasuke's body a number of different levels of bruising across his back, almost as if something had hit him repeatedly in succession. However the Futon: Rasen Shurikan I remember being told about ripped an Akatsuki member to pieces, so I don't see how it could have been used in this instance."
Jiraiya crossed his arms and frowned to indicated he was thinking, clearly remembering the detailed description of the attack from Kakashi when they arrived back at Konoha, not knowing whether to feel proud of his student being able to complete a technique that neither he, Kakashi nor the Yondaime could do or worried- worried at the raw power that was now at his fingertips and how easily it would be able to create utter chaos with such a jutsu. He just hoped that he wouldn't follow the same quest for power as the Uchiha had done.
"By the sounds of it Naruto must have purposely not molded his chakra properly in order to blunt the edges of the chakra shurikan- even in the midst of battle it seems he doesn't want to hurt him, but all he gets for his consideration is the pain which he hoped would have gone away with Sasuke's return."
A few quiet moments passed between the two sannin whom Naruto considered his family as they gazed at the resting body almost lost amongst the various sheets and wires draped across him, the heart monitor that indicated the life was still in his veins the only thing preventing a silence from taking over. The female of the pair didn't notice the other walking to her side and placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder; an obvious attempt in trying to reconcile the fretting Hokage.
"Hey, Tsunade, how about we go get some sake? We haven't been out together for a long time."
"No, it's alright- I…I think I'm going to stay here for the night."
His comforting expression that went with the reassuring gesture instantly dropped to a frown as he heard the reply give, knowing full well Tsunade would usually never pass up the opportunity of an all expenses paid drink fest, and to do so to him was just unnatural. In the end he pulled the female from her usual chair/make-shift bed next to the unconscious patient and draped an arm around her shoulder as her legs became used to standing after a long time at rest, giving her a light shake in order to get her to look at him. He couldn't deny that he was shocked once she finally did, seeing that even with her youthful genjutsu in full flow at all times he noticed faint traces of age beginning to break through- obviously the stress of this was taking its toll.
"Come on Tsunade, for old time's sake. Just one drink? I'll even escort you back here myself after."
He knew that as long as he managed to get her out of the hospital and get one drink down her throat it was pretty much guaranteed he could get her away for the night, especially when she could claim that what wouldn't even get a child drunk would her.
"Fine- but only one alright? Then I'm free to leave as I wish."
"Hai! Hai! One drink, that's all I'm after."
Of course between the two sannin one drink led to another until soon a miniature Konoha began to form upon the bar they were drinking at, with the slug sannin just adding the Hokage tower with the bottle of sake she had just drained, taking great care to place it exactly in the right spot and to not upset the rest of the silent bottles. It was quite a feat for someone to do this let alone a person severely under alcohol's hand, but the fact her rather bodacious drinking buddy's elbow slammed into the sake gates and ended up triggering a 'domino effect' along the monument and soon destroyed It was a sight to see, especially when the creator of the creation slammed her fist without a second thought into the perpetrator's face and watched him sail through not only the wall of the building they were occupying but also the next, snorting at the ironic fact that he landed amongst a pile of women's lingerie, a trail of drool snaking from his lips. This was used as an excuse for the female to storm out ignoring the slightly fearful looks she received from her fellow drinkers as she passed, her feet stumbling over one another as she followed a zigzag path up to the hospital room which she had left a few hours before, her drunk eyes gazing over the room before realizing the room was completely silent.
Neither a bird's call from the open window nor a beat from the heart monitor…
'Wait a minute…'
Stumbling over to the bed which should have been containing the jinchuriki was found to be empty after she ripped the covers clean off the bed, her comatose patient disappeared from sight. She gave no notice to the alcohol that was confusing her movements and snapped back to reality as the realization of the situation hit, instantly charging back to her office with no sign of her drunken stupor in sight as she ordered the two ANBU standing guard outside to assemble the other forces, threatening to go after any that refused and deal with them herself. The threat alone was enough to make any shinobi heed the Hokage's request with near 20 members of ANBU littered in front of her desk with Kakashi sitting with an unconscious Jiraiya to her side, the stern glare she used as she surveyed the group enough to make even these elite ninjas squirm.
"Naruto has gone missing."
A/N: Next chapter will be up as soon as possible- in the mean time reviews would be loved!
