The Heart of the Matter
Chapter 10
Meanwhile somewhere outside of Konoha
Naruto lay panting, his chest heaving, the poison was slowly starting to make its way out of his system. The process was painful and Naruto was glad it was almost finished, holding the clone and dealing with this had been almost more than he could handle. He hoped Tsunade found out something from whomever had thought it was a good idea to poison him.
"How are you feeling kid?" Jiraya asks as he enters the room.
"I feel better than I did when I had to hold the clone." Naruto said "are you sure it was necessary to tell all my friend's that I'm dead?"
"For the time being yes." Jiraya said "we are certain that it was someone in the village had helped the other Nin poison you". One would think that Naruto would have been observant enough to know that something had been going on.
"Sasuke and Sakura won't like this plan when it all comes out. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't speak to me for a while."
"They will understand that it has to do with your safety." Jiraya told him "They couldn't be told about it just in case they slipped up and told someone."
"Still putting them through pain like that isn't something I want to do." Naruto answered, as he turned to look out the window. For the first few days, Naruto had been extremely sick. Tsunade had somehow managed to unblock his chakra points and the fox had slowly begun healing him again. It was at that point that Kakashi had come up with the plan to fake Naruto's death. It hadn't been that hard to create an extremely sick looking clone, it was however a little more difficult to keep it from bursting, while Naruto himself dealt with the effects of the poison. Naruto's heart wasn't in the best of shape, and he would probably need surgery eventually, but for now he could continue as was. Naruto wasn't a hundred percent rid of the poison yet, but he doubted he would be dealing with it for too much longer.
"How long will I be away from Konoha?" Naruto asked turning to face Jiraya again.
"You won't be able to go back until we have caught the villager that was helping the Nin. We can't have them going after you again." Jiraya replied and Naruto frowned. He hated this, he wanted to be with his friends and teammates. He didn't want them to think that he was dead. What made it even worse, Naruto wouldn't be able to train anytime soon, until Tsunade could determine the full extent of the damage to Naruto's heart. It wouldn't be the poison that killed him, it would be the waiting around for something to happen.
"I know it's going to suck to be you for the next little while." Jiraya said seeing the scowl on Naruto's face. "Tsunade just wants to make sure that you are really on the mend, and that the poison will have any unexpected side effects."
"Other than putting a stop to my ninja career" Naruto muttered "I don't think she has anything to worry about."
"You can pick your career up again" Jiraya assured him "We all just want to make sure you are healthy and able to handle the pressure."
"I know" Naruto sighed, all he wanted was his friends, he could never be as happy without his friends as he was with them. He hated what this whole situation was doing to them. It wasn't fair to ask them to grieve for him and then to have him unexpectedly come back from the dead.
"I know this situation isn't easy for you." Jiraya said quietly "It's not easy on anyone right now, but this was our best bet to keep you alive. You know Tsuande wouldn't go through with it if she didn't think that."
"I know" Naruto gave Jiraya a weak smile before turning back to the window. His loneliness showing in his eyes. He had been gone for less than a week and he missed his friends terribly. What was he supposed to here other than lay in bed and recover?
"Things will get better, Tsunade just wants you to be okay, your team will understand that when it comes down to it."
"I know" Naruto murmured as he winced when his heart gave a sharp pang. The heart monitor beside him giving proof that his heart wasn't yet mended.
"Stop worrying so much." Jiraya commented "worrying won't help your heart any." Naruto chuckled before laying back on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. Naruto hoped they could find the culprit soon, otherwise he would go crazy with nothing to do.
"I know you'll be bored, but here is something you can learn from and put it into practice at a later date." Jiraya tossed a scroll at him. Naruto frowned and opened it reading a small part of it.
"You think I could actually learn this kind of jutsu?" Naruto asked it was a jutsu based on wind style, which he was barely able to use.
"You can do anything you put your mind to" Jiraya replied "Besides why not train your mind instead of your body for the time being?" Naruto smirked, he should have known that Jiraya would find a way for him to train without actually training him.
Meanwhile Back In Konoha
Sasuke stood in front of his mirror staring at his dark funeral clothes. He couldn't believe he was getting ready to bury his teammate. When Naruto had first started showing signs of being sick, it hadn't seemed like it was very bad. Of course Sasuke should have known that something had been going wrong because of Nine Tails Naruto had never been sick before. If Sasuke had only told Tsunade his suspicions earlier than maybe she could have found a cure and his teammate would still be alive.
Sighing, Sasuke raised his hand and touched his heart. It didn't seem possible that an organ could hurt so much without physically stopping. Who was he supposed to measure his strength against now that Naruto was gone? Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that the day was already over. He didn't want to go through with the funeral, but Naruto deserved all the respect that Sasuke could offer. Still, loneliness ate at Sasuke until it felt like he was going to go insane. Naruto had been the only person he knew who had known what it was like to be truly lonely.
Turning away from the mirror, Sasuke walked out of his home and started toward the building where Naruto's funeral was to be held. This wasn't going to be an easy day for any of the rookies. But he believed that Kakashi was right when he had told Sasuke and Sakura that Naruto's will of fire lived in them. It would be up to them to not allow it to be extinguished. Sasuke refused to allow it to be put out, Naruto's life had to mean something, whether other people recognized that or not. Still, Sasuke couldn't but wonder if this whole situation could have ended differently if anyone had caught on earlier that Naruto hadn't been well.
Sighing, Sasuke turned entered the building where Naruto's body was on display. His heart beat faster as he approached the body of his best friend. Standing there, Sasuke looked down at Naruto finding it hard to see him so still.
"It doesn't really even look like him" Sakura said quietly from behind him. "Our Naruto wouldn't ever be so still, he'd be jumping around, happier than anyone should ever be."
"Half the time that happiness was faked." Sasuke mumbled thinking about the times he had caught the lost and lonely expression on Naruto's face when he didn't think anyone was looking. He had never told Naruto, but Sasuke had felt Naruto's loneliness deeply and it hurt him knowing that Naruto had to long for any kind of companionship, it hurt even more knowing that Naruto had died without ever really getting it. Sasuke had never really claimed Naruto as his friend, not publicly anyways. It hurt Sasuke even more as he stared down at Naruto's face. What he wouldn't give to go back and change things. Sighing, Sasuke reached out and touched Naruto's cheek, not liking the warmth it lacked. Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had always been friendly no matter how badly people treated him. Naruto deserved a better death than poison, it was such a cowardly way to take someone out.
"I'm sorry, Naruto, for not noticing that things had been going wrong for you." Sasuke said, as his heart gave another painful twinge and he closed his eyes to fight against the pain. This wasn't right, they shouldn't have to be there right now. Opening his eyes, Sasuke forced himself to look at his friend once more before walking away.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Mega M: I do realize that that not much can affect nine tails, and that Tsunade can pretty much heal anything. The beauty of fiction is being able to write it anyway you want to. And like I said this is not a deathfic. I for one, like to take him as close to death as possible. Call me weird but I like writing things like that. Thanks again for reading.