Chapter 9: Formorrow Sur
"Are you certain there's nothing we can do, Sakura?" Shizune asked her fellow medic.
"Regretfully, no," Sakura told her from her seat. While Shizune vainly tried to use another of her myriad medical jutsus to break Kiba out of his imprisoning crystal, Sakura meticulously examined every millimeter of another, smaller piece of Star Sapphire crystal under a microscope. This one trapped one of Shino's insects. "See for yourself."
Sakura moved out of her seat to let Shizune check the violet construct for herself. In turn, Sakura moved to follow up on the still trapped Kiba and Shino, who lay perfectly still on two beds side by side. Akamaru lay in a corner next to its master and friend, ignoring his own encased leg. The Hokage's primary apprentice studied the crystal just as exhaustively as her colleague. "It's incredible," she said. "I don't see any structure to this crystal at all. If I weren't touching it, I'd say it was just light. And the kikaichu…"
"So you noticed too."
"It's perfectly preserved, even more so than if it were frozen," Shizune continued.
"The construct is keeping it… keeping them all in stasis," Sakura said while she gently stroked Akamaru. "I can only presume that it's just like Naruto's own green constructs: coalesced, controlled light made solid by some means that we're nowhere close to understanding."
"But why are these constructs not disappearing, unlike Naruto-kun's own?" Shizune asked.
"Maybe each power ring works differently, and the violet light has a more permanent presence," Sakura answered.
"I sincerely hope not. Personally, I don't even know where to start treatment." Akamaru whined, clearly understanding Shizune's feeling. "It'll be alright, boy," she said while Sakura stroked its fur compassionately. "We're not going to give up."
"The Star Sapphire will know how to cure them," Sakura commented. "And I trust Naruto will bring him back." The young nurse glanced out the window and towards the setting sun. Naruto was taking longer than she had expected to return. Had the other Lantern defeated him instead, she thought to herself. For an instant, Sakura imagined Naruto also laying on one of the hospital beds, and shivered at the sight of him imprisoned in another violet crystal.
Her fear vanished when, from the corner of her eye, she spied a green speck of light that grew larger and streaked towards the hospital. "He's back!" Sakura yelled to Shizune. She and Akamaru turned towards the former quickly, but before Shizune could ask anything, Sakura had already bolted out of the room.
The pink-haired ninja soon reached the main lobby of the hospital. A masked Naruto, still in his Green Lantern uniform, was holding another uniformed person in his arms. Various patients and nurses were already approaching him as he hunched over and began breathing heavily. Sakura rushed over, caught Naruto up, and bore some of the other Lantern's weight.
"I got you," she told him. Turning to the awestruck nurses, she ordered: "I need two carts over here, stat!" Her colleagues immediately rushed to obey her. Sakura then turned to her friend again, but when she caught her first sight of the Star Sapphire, she almost lost her grip on them both. "It can't be... Hin..." She stopped when she noticed Naruto's knowing, pleading face looking at her directly. She understood, and did not finish.
"Sakura! Here!" Shizune and another nurse arrived just then and approached the three. While Sakura wordlessly helped place Hinata on the first cot, Naruto struggled but managed to cover her face with a simple cloth-like construct. It was too late to prevent Shizune from recognizing her, but the Hokage's assistant understood his intent and so suppressed her own surprise as well.
"You too," Sakura told Naruto, deliberately not saying his name due to the other people close by.
"I'm fine," he protested, "but she..."
"Like hell you are," Sakura countered. She placed a hand on his forehead and passed it over the large bump on his temple. "You have a concussion and are low on chakra."
"We'll take care of her, I promise," Shizune reassured him. "So please, listen to Sakura."
"O...k..." And with that, Naruto collapsed unconscious onto the cart.
"How are they?" Kakashi asked Sakura as she stepped out of the secluded room in the Intensive Care unit.
"Naruto's sleeping. He had a concussion and a few bruised muscles but he'll be alright soon. But Hinata..." she hesitated. Kurenai Yuhi tightened her fist, expecting grave news. "I can't remove her ring. Every time I try, it emits powerful shocks that repel anything it touches. When I used tools, holding it for more than an instant crystallized whatever I used."
Kakashi and Sai, who were accompanying Sakura while Shizune briefed Tsunade, waited to see if Kurenai had anything to say. Hinata's teacher swallowed hard. "All three of them..."
"Don't blame yourself, Kurenai," Kakashi quickly said.
"I don't," the older female ninja answered him. "And strangely enough, I don't blame the violet ring, either."
"What did Naruto say about its powers?" Sai asked.
"Not much else than what Shizune and I deduced from examining the remaining constructs," Sakura answered. "The constructs it can generate are similar to Naruto's, except longer-lasting. But also..."
"Also what?" Kakashi inquired.
"He said Hinata seemed to be fighting against using it. When she did tap its power, it's as if she was another person entirely."
"Could it be a side-effect from the ring?" Sai asked.
"Maybe," is all Sakura could offer. "Though that would be different from the lack of those effects on Naruto's and even Itachi's rings. We won't know for certain until we can ask Hinata."
"Do you know when she will wake up?" Kakashi asked next.
Sakura sighed before she answered her sensei: "I can't say for certain. It may be a few hours, or a few days."
"If at all."
"Sai!"
"My apologies, Kakashi-sensei. I did not intend any doubt on Sakura's judgment, but it is a possibility," Sai explained. "If Hyuuga Hinata was fighting against the ring's second personality, she may be fighting it still. Perhaps she is forcing herself unconscious. To protect everyone from herself. Hence, if her ring cannot be removed, she may fight against the ring's influence forever."
"And if she loses..."
"She won't," Kurenai cut off Kakashi. "I know Hinata better than most. Beneath her shy, introverted exterior lies an extremely capable shinobi. No matter how long it takes her, she will win." Kurenai glanced sideways towards the room. "All we need to do is wait." As if expecting Kurenai's words to be fulfilled soon, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai followed her gaze towards the room where her students plus Naruto lay under care.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Naruto's voice boomed from within. The four ninjas wasted no time and dashed into the room. Inside, Naruto, out of his bed, was holding Hinata behind him, protected inside one of his spheres. Despite the ruckus, Akamaru was sound asleep, thanks to a small dart that poked out of the corner of his neck. On the opposite end, a masked ANBU lay collapsed on the back of the room in front of an open window. Naruto's ring was aimed directly at the covert ops agent.
"What happened?" Sakura asked Naruto. She took a step towards him, but stopped short when four other ANBU units materialized next to their fallen comrade.
"More of you bastards?" Naruto yelled at the ANBU unit.
"Move away from the Hyuuga girl, Uzumaki Naruto," one of the men ordered him. Two others helped the first one up.
"What do you want with Hyuuga Hinata?" Kurenai forcefully asked the five spies.
"We have our orders," the hawk-faced ANBU shot back sharply.
"I don't care who's pulling your strings, but you're not taking Hinata!" Naruto yelled back. The five ANBU units bent their knees slightly. At this, Sakura raised her fists, Kurenai brought her hands together into a seal, and Kakashi raised the forehead protector from his left Sharingan eye. Only Sai did not react.
"I thought so," Kakashi said, keeping his Sharingan aimed at the five ANBU but glancing sideways towards Sai. "You're with Root." The five attacking ninjas remained still, but Kakashi's allies grunted.
"You're certain of this?" Kurenai asked him.
"There's a reason Sai refuses to raise a hand against them," the copy ninja posited. Sai looked towards the others and met eyes with Sakura.
"Sai? How could you..." If he felt something from her stunned stare, his face did not betray it.
"You bastard!" Naruto shot. "I should've known better than..."
"Look out!" Kurenai warned them all. In the distraction, the ANBU dashed towards Naruto. The five made different seals in their hands, but before either they or their opponents could react, Naruto gave life to his thoughts first. Before any jutsu or attack could commence, five green foxes emerged from the emerald ring, slammed into the five ANBU, and pinned them against the opposite wall. While he still kept Hinata protected inside a bubble-like construct, the Green Lantern stood up and menacingly approached his enemies.
"Hyuuga Hinata is a fellow ninja of Konoha," he spat at the five. "You jerks will treat her as such!"
"Naruto..." Sakura whispered. Even with his back turned to them, Sakura knew her teammate well enough to know that there was more than just his willpower spilling forth from the ring. There was a deep anger and hatred boiling in his voice.
"A Konoha ninja does not attack fellow ninjas," the same hawk-faced ANBU retorted. "Something you should know very well, Uzumaki Naruto. Or have you forgotten Uchiha Sasuke?" The fox construct holding him roared and slashed at his mask. The eagle-shaped cover cracked but held firm, while its owner grunted from the strike. From behind, Kakashi began to notice faint orange-red blotches mix with Naruto's green aura.
"DON'T... MENTION... SASUKE!" he screamed between grit teeth.
"And a true Konoha ninja knows how to follow orders," the ANBU said. "Ours come from the highest authority. If you defy us, you defy Konoha, and will be a traitor."
"There's no way the elders would say something like that!" Kurenai said.
"I will say this one last time, Uzumaki. Relinquish Hyuuga Hinata, or suffer the consequences."
"If this is what Konoha's leaders want, then to hell with them!" Naruto swore. "I am not just a Konoha ninja. I am the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. And as such, Hyuuga Hinata, Star Sapphire, falls under MY jurisdiction!" The green ring shone brighter, the five fox constructs opened their jaws to bite the helpless ANBU, and larger blotches of orange chakra began to taint the emerald aura surrounding him. "If you so much as touch her, I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Warning. Power corrupted. Power levels 21%."
"Gh!" The mixture of orange chakra and green willpower twisted wildly around Naruto. He clasped his head as it pounded with every heartbeat.
"This is bad!" Kakashi said. "The Kyuubi's chakra is draining his ring!" The five fox constructs churned and twisted, until they vanished into thin air. The one around Hinata held together but the light of the sphere dimmed noticeably. At once, the five ANBU rushed towards the helpless Lanterns.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. The ANBU were upon Naruto and Hinata.
"Hakke!" two voices cried out in unison. Two new ninjas burst from behind Naruto's comrades and slammed their palms on the four ANBU beside the hawk-faced one. As one, they then tagged the leader with their index and middle fingers on four different tenketsu. All five ANBU collapsed on their knees in front of Naruto and his two protectors.
"Neji? Hanabi?" Kurenai said bewildered.
"Leave my sister alone!" the younger Hyuuga girl ordered the masked ninjas. The talented Hyuuga heiress stood to the right of her cousin Neji, who was still in his hospital robes.
"Neji! You're still recovering from Itachi's attack!" Sakura scolded him.
"I'm well enough for this," the young Jounin answered. The patches on both sides of his neck were slightly stained red, but not enough to cause Sakura lasting concern.
"Despite your protests," the ANBU leader said with some effort, "you cannot overturn Danzou-sama's orders."
"Maybe they can't. But I certainly can," one more voice echoed from behind Kakashi. He and Kurenai turned, then immediately stepped out of the way of the newest arrival. Everyone in the room instantly recognized the tall, long-haired man dressed in a traditional kimono that walked in almost casually. Despite his apparently calm attitude, his active Byakugan proved otherwise. With some difficulty, Naruto stepped out of his way and let him stand in front of the hawk-faced enemy.
"Hiashi-sama?" the lead ANBU stuttered. The Hyuuga clan's head stared down to the one who threatened Hinata. Despite the fully circular vision his bloodline limit allowed him, Hiashi's focus was centered squarely on the ninja in front of him.
"Leave. Now. If your master objects, I shall accommodate him. Personally." Though his command was simple, the tone of his voice did not hide an implicit threat toward the five and to the one who sent them on their capture mission.
The other four ANBU looked towards their leader. After staying silent for a few seconds, he bowed his head ever so slightly, and all five ANBU disappeared. Everyone in the room breathed deep and lowered their attack stances. Kakashi held Naruto in case he had any side-effects from the Kyuubi chakra leaking, and Sakura helped Neji to a nearby chair as a precaution.
"Why is Hiashi-sama here?" Sakura asked Neji.
"Otou-san and I were visiting Neji-niisan," Hanabi explained. "When we heard Naruto yell we thought he was overreacting, but then otou-san saw what was happening."
"I should note, I did not know of any of..." Sai began, but Naruto interrupted him.
"Get out," was all he said. Sai wanted to protest, but again the same pain in his heart as before returned with a vengeance. Worse yet, the malignancy multiplied at the sight of the other ninjas' accusing stares. Without saying a word, Sai turned and stepped out of the room.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Hiashi addressed the Green Lantern. Despite a slight grogginess, Naruto stood up straight without Kakashi's help. The clan head turned towards the Green Lantern. "It is my understanding that you brought back Hinata safely?"
"I'm sorry, sir," he answered. "I had to stun her."
"You saved her," Hiashi said. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "And for that, you have my gratitude." Naruto hesitated for a bit, but then relented and gave Hinata's father a weak smile. He stood back and gently hovered the still-unconscious Star Sapphire onto her father's waiting arms. Wordlessly, Hiashi carried Hinata back to her bed and gently laid her down. "If I may have a moment with my daughter?" None of the others said a word. While Neji remained on his chair and Hanabi approached her family, Naruto, Kurenai, Sakura, and Kakashi stepped out of the room. Naruto, the last one to exit, glanced behind him momentarily. The last thing he saw before he closed the door behind him was Hanabi gripping Hinata's left arm and Hiashi placing his hand over Hinata's forehead.
My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I am an officer of the Green Lantern Corps. Space Sector 2814. And for the first time since it happened, I curse the day I got this ring.
Two days passed since ANBU Root's attempt to take Hinata. Kakashi and Kurenai had immediately briefed Tsunade regarding what had happened, and she promised to redouble security around the Intensive Care ward while they all waited for the Star Sapphire's recovery. Two of her hand-picked ANBU, both members of the Hyuuga clan, remained outside at all times, while others placed special sentry ward jutsus on the windows. Such measures had not yet been needed, but the Hokage and the clan preferred to side with caution.
The afternoon mirrored Naruto's mood. Rain clouds had covered the village around noon, and soon after they opened up with an ongoing downpour occasionally accompanied by flashes of lightning. But Naruto paid no attention to the outside storm, instead his attention was centered solely on the bed to his right, where Hinata lay motionless except for weak, shallow breaths.
"Pay attention, dammit!" Sakura yelled at him. She had come in some time earlier to visit.
"Huh?"
"You haven't touched your food for the past day!" she told him, pointing at two covered trays on the nightstand next to his bed.
"...I'm not hungry," he said, still keeping his sights on the sleeping figure.
"You have to eat, Naruto," Sakura scolded him, though this time her tone was more subdued. "You're never going to properly regain your strength otherwise, much less recharge your ring." Naruto turned away from Hinata and stared at the green ring. When he continued his silence, Sakura took the lunch tray from the nightstand while she spoke. "Remember what Kurenai-sensei told us. Hinata's a fighter. And she's fighting against the ring's influence now. I'm sure that no matter how long it takes her she'll..."
"She wanted me to kill her."
If Naruto's sudden interruption surprised Sakura, the nature of his message caused her to drop the tray and spill its contents all over the floor. "She.. what?"
"She begged me to kill her, so she wouldn't hurt anyone. When I couldn't..." he said, as he moved his sight back towards her, "she tried to kill herself."
"But... why didn't you tell me? You said she was fighting its influence."
"She was," he answered. "And she was losing. She regained her senses for a moment, and if I hadn't stopped her, she wouldn't be here now. She doesn't want to wake up. She wants to die, and take that other Hinata with her." Naruto glanced back at Sakura, then gestured his head towards Hinata. "You're the medic. Just look at her. Her breathing's been shallowing out for hours. Her pulse is likely weaker too." At this, Sakura sped towards the Star Sapphire and placed two fingers on the side of her neck. Naruto knew he as right when the medic-nin slowly retracted her hand.
Sakura was short on words. She knew the quality of Konoha's Jounin, so she did not doubt Kurenai's assertion of Hinata's strengths, even if they were hidden. But she knew Naruto very well, too, and the only times he was so depressed was regarding Sasuke. Not to mention, the medical evidence was not indicating a good prognosis.
"Still think she's gonna get better?" he said with more bitterness than he intended. For a moment he thought Sakura would clobber him, but he was not surprised when she held back.
"I'll tell Tsunade-sama and ask for her help. We'll be back soon," was all she said. Hesitantly avoiding Naruto's gaze, Sakura stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Naruto waited wordlessly for some time, how much exactly he did not know. Akamaru crawled to his side, dragging its crystallized leg carefully so as to not shatter it. Despite being so close to the spilled food, the canine ignored it just like Naruto.
"You're worried about them all, aren't you, boy?" he finally whispered to it. Kiba's companion whined and nuzzled its nose against Naruto's right hand. The blonde boy lightly scratched Akamaru's neck. "So am I." In response, the dog raised its free paw and curled it over Naruto's arm.
The two remained quiet for some more time, each one comforting the other in their worries about their comrades. Naruto stopped scratching Akamaru and settled for keeping his hand on its head, while the canine held its paw on the Lantern's left arm. Though Akamaru's gaze shifted equally between Shino, Kiba, and Hinata, Naruto's was squarely placed on the Star Sapphire's.
"Have you really given up?" he asked her. "Are you so resigned to..." he swallowed hard and held back the last word.
Akamaru's head suddenly perked up and shot towards the Star Sapphire. The dog let go of Naruto and dragged itself to Hinata's side, not caring for the construct in its leg starting to crack under the strain. "Hold up! What's wrong boy?" Naruto called after it. With a little effort he got up from his bed and leaned close to the unconscious girl. He could no longer hear her shallow breaths.
"Hinata?" Naruto placed his hand over her mouth.
He felt no air massage his hand.
"She's not breathing!" The young Lantern awkwardly repeated Sakura's earlier test. He placed his right index and middle fingers on various places on her neck. He knew little about medicine, but just enough to know how to look for even a weak pulse.
Nothing.
"Don't you dare!" he yelled at her. "Don't you give up!" He remembered enough of ninja emergency triage to know how to perform basic resuscitation, so after a moment's hesitation in which all awkward or perverted thoughts were immediately discarded, he placed her hand on her semi-bare chest and began pumping rhythmically. After fifteen repetitions, he opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and then pressed his own against hers and gave her his air without pause.
"Breathe, Hinata! BREATHE!"
Another repetition. Nothing.
"Breathe, dammit!"
Fifteen presses and two breaths. Nothing.
"NO!"
Again. Nothing.
"Live, Hinata!" As a last ditch gamble, he pressed the green ring on top of her heart, while his left hand grasped hers and pulled. "LIVE!" The green ring poured its power into her. The violet ring erupted.
"Love. Corruption detected."
"Will. Emotional detonation imminent."
"Rkrkrkrkrkrkrkrkrkr."
"You're so stupid, Naruto," Sakura said. "She's still alive, but that was still stupid." Naruto lay in bed and said nothing. "You knew the risks her ring posed, and you still touched it. Why?" Naruto still said nothing. "Why did you endanger yourself like that?" She sat on his bed and caressed his forehead, feeling the gentle warmth of his skin and the cold roughness of the crystal growing on it. "Why did you have to leave me alone?"
While she had been asking for Tsunade's help, one of the ANBU guards from he hospital burst in and mentioned the growing noise in the room. He told them how they saw Naruto pouring his green energy onto the Star Sapphire, even as her own ring's light enveloped and danced wildly around him. The power was too much for any of even their advanced jutsus, so one of them stayed to monitor the situation while the other notified the Hokage. When Sakura, Shizune and Tsunade reached the room, Akamaru was holding the unconscious Naruto over its back. Hinata was still alive, but Naruto had crystal shards all over his body. The ring's overloading power had consumed him, and over the last few hours the shards had grown into thicker crystals. The nurses removed his infected clothing, though this only delayed the spread. A further check revealed the crystals were growing both outside and inside him.
Naruto, now with crystals growing all over his naked body and covered only by a simple hospital bedsheet, was dying.
"You promised me," she said. "You promised me we'd bring back Sasuke together. You're not going to break that promise, are you?" There was no response to her question. Sakura fell silent for some time.
"You know, this reminds me of our very first mission," she started again, this time bringing herself to produce a weak smile. "That was almost three years ago. It's hard to imagine how fast time goes by, isn't it?" As with her last question, Naruto said nothing. Sakura stretched out her hand and placed it on his cheek. "You're getting colder. And the look of these constructs. You look and feel just like Sasuke three years ago." Sakura had to stop to control the growing lump on her throat. "When I saw him lying there, motionless, embedded with so many of Haku's needles, it was as if my heart were being crushed in a twisting grip. That was the first time I broke Shinobi Saying number Twenty-Five. You must possess a heart that never shows tears." She let go of Naruto and raised her sight up and away from him. "When Sasuke woke up, I broke it again out of happiness. Since then, I've lost count of how many times I've cried. I couldn't keep control of my heart. Do you think that makes me a bad shinobi?" she asked him, not expecting an answer. "After Sasuke left... after you returned and promised me you'd drag him back if you had to... that was the last time I cried. I stopped crying, strengthened my heart and my skills, and I swore to you we'd bring him back together. That the three of us would be one team again. And I..." she sniffed once. "I wouldn't be alone again." Sakura sniffed again, and the lump in her throat tightened further. "But Sasuke's still gone, and now you..." She brought her hand up to her face and gently touched a single tear that streamed down. "I guess... I wasn't strong enough."
Suddenly, Sakura sharply turned towards Naruto and crossed her arms over him, ignoring the pain of the crystals poking onto her skin. She dug her face in and let the tears flow freely. Her sobs echoed throughout the room, rousing a sleeping Akamaru from its slumber. "I can't bear it! You can't die, Naruto! You promised! You promised we'd be together again! So please! Wake up!" Kiba's faithful companion could do little except whine, fully comprehending Sakura's feelings. "You always beat the odds! You always overcome all your challenges! So don't give up! Don't just lie down and die! Don't..." Sakura's yells stopped for a moment, and then she added as a mere whisper: "don't leave me alone."
The door to the intensive care room opened, and the Hokage strode in. She placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder and said: "Sakura, let's go."
"I won't leave him," she defied her sensei.
"We're not giving up on any of them," Tsunade told her. "I'm leading the entire research team myself. I could use your help." After a few seconds, Sakura hesitantly stood up and followed Tsunade out.
"I'll do my best," she said to Naruto, "so don't give up yet. Use that will of yours that led the green ring to you. Stay alive." With that, Sakura closed the door behind her.
"I don't know what to say," Sai whispered. It took all of his Root training, but he managed to sneak into the intensive care ward, avoid detection by the ANBU guards and all their protection jutsus, and place a sound barrier jutsu around the room once he was inside. "I knew I had to see you, but now that I'm here, I don't know what to do."
Sai just stared at Naruto, and at the crystals that now covered half of his body mass. His left arm was completely entombed, and the cancerous constructs had spread to both his legs, back, and large patches of his front torso. Random violet shards jutted out of his face and forehead. Only his lower right arm, bathed in the soft, waning emerald glow of his own ring, remained untouched by the Star Sapphire's attack.
"I suppose I should start by admitting something. Something that, although I cannot understand it, has caused me physical discomfort." Sai averted his sight away from Naruto for a second. "I truly had no idea the five would attempt to abduct Hyuuga Hinata. But I most confess: I..." he hesitated, "I was to spy on you, Green Lantern." He grabbed his chest. "When I was given the order, and when I accepted it, an unknown malady struck me. I feel pain where none was before whenever I was given similar orders. My chest tightens, as if an enemy were reaching in and compressing my heart." Still avoiding looking at Naruto, Sai reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a thin pamphlet. "I copied down something I read in a book. It was about making friends, and what not to do to them. When a friend is betrayed, or you do something behind his back, it says that if a true bond has been established, then one might feel an emotion called regret, caused by another negative feeling of guilt." Now Sai turned and faced Naruto directly. "Perhaps the word is appropriate. I am guilty." He paused for a second, then skimmed through his pamphlet again before addressing the comatose boy. "I found that between friends, the way for a guilty party to repair the strained bond is to apologize. But if I am following orders, orders from my superiors for the good of Konoha, is it appropriate to apologize? Must duty overcome friendship?" He did not really expect an answer from Naruto, but he waited for one nonetheless. "You of all ninjas would know much about this, given your bond with Uchiha Sasuke and his betrayal. I wonder, is the way I feel now similar to the way he or you feel about each other?" Once more, he waited fruitlessly for Naruto to speak.
Sai hung his head after a while. "I suppose I may never know now."
"Such questions cannot receive answers so easily," a soft yet monotone voice echoed. Startled from the sudden sound, Sai gripped the Tanto sheathed on his back and glanced around.
"Who's there?"
"Sai of the planet Earth. Despite your harsh training, you are not devoid of empathy."
Sai continued to scan for the voice's source. There was nobody around, and the Inuzuka dog was still asleep thanks to the harmless jutsu Sai had used on it when he first came in. As he turned, he noticed the green ring was glowing slightly brighter.
"This is... the voice of the ring's sentience?"
"Affirmative."
At this, Sai let go of his weapon and knelt close to Naruto's right hand, where the green ring illuminated his face with its soft emerald light. "You know my thoughts?"
"And your feelings. You feel remorse and guilt for betraying your friend, despite following your orders. This is normal. But your doubts cannot be answered with mere words, or with simple actions. Emotions, just as life itself, are complex, hard to grasp, and sometimes contradictory."
Sai pondered on the ring's words for some time before he answered it: "For my whole life, my orders were to ignore emotion. I am only a weapon in the service of Konoha."
"Yet despite not feeling them yourself, you seek to understand emotions in others. You were taught to use that knowledge to manipulate your opponents. But to experience and come to terms with them can be difficult."
"This pain in my chest, then," he asked the ring, "am I damned to live with it forever, if Naruto passes away without my remorse? Should I simply kill my emotions completely and be rid of them?"
"Uzumaki Naruto need not die," he heard. "Nor do you need to bear this pain forever. But your training to abandon emotion is not the way. Without it, life withers into darkness. We implore you, Sai, not to fall into the maw of the black abyss. Do not be ashamed of your fledgling emotions. That is not the way to save Uzumaki Naruto and your comrades from uncontrolled love."
"Can you help Naruto?" Sai asked it.
"Yes. But not directly."
"Then tell me what you need," Sai volunteered. He took Naruto's right hand and held the jade ring close to him. "Tell me what I need to do."
"You presume incorrectly that it is the Green Lantern ring that speaks to you."
"Huh?" he asked quizzically. "If not you, then what..." From where there was nothing before, a soft, purplish glow above him interrupted his thoughts.
"Sai of the planet Earth. You have the ability to feel great compassion."
Sai glanced up and gasped when he saw a dancing indigo light shining just above him. Inside lay a ring just like Naruto's and Hinata's, but its symbol was a simple circle with two arrowheads just outside of it, one pointing up and the other one down. The purple-hued ring zipped straight towards Sai and slid itself cleanly onto his right middle finger. At once, his eyes lit up with the ring's symbol.
"Welcome to the Indigo Tribe."
"Nok."
This time, there was no need for Sakura and Tsunade to wait for the ANBU guards' message. The bright light that shone out of Naruto's room was visible all the way from the Hokage's office. The two medic ninjas, plus Shizune, dashed right through the window. The trap jutsus triggered, but they were all instantly dispelled. For a second Sakura thought it was the work of the two ANBU, who stood on the opposite end of the room just past the door. But upon seeing the outstretched hand of the ward's newest occupant, she immediately knew it was his doing.
"Sai?"
"Greetings, Haruno Sakura." The black-haired ANBU Root elite hovered in the middle of the room, engulfed in a wispy, slow-moving cloud of indigo light. Sai's clothing was replaced with short leather pants and a simple sleeveless, open cloth jacket. The sides of his lower legs and upper arms now held tattoos shaped just like the symbol that lay inscribed in a large medallion tied to a metal collar on his neck. His left hand held a long staff built out of what seemed to be wood and coral, with a large, open pod that shone brilliantly from the inside. His forehead protector was gone, replaced by a simple cloth bandanna with the same tattoo symbol sewn onto it. Finally, just like Naruto and Hinata, Sai wore a shining indigo-colored ring on his right middle finger.
"Back away from them, Sai!" Tsunade ordered the new Lantern.
"There is no need for hostility, Tsunade-sama," Sai calmly answered her. Despite how his eyes were closed, he turned his head to face the Hokage, Shizune, and Sakura. "Your concern for the wellbeing of these five life-forms is justified. I share your resolve to save them."
"You... you can save them?" Shizune asked him.
"The ring of the Indigo Tribe allows me to understand fundamental knowledge hidden to others when it is necessary. The malady that is afflicting these five is not of the Star Sapphire's own doing, nor is it her ring's." Still not opening his eyelids, he shifted his empty gaze towards the sleeping female Lantern. "Hyuuga Hinata... she fights against its influence, but the power of love, so far from the center of the spectrum, can be difficult to control. It is time she, and those she desired to protect, be freed from the throes of the violet light."
Under the close watch of Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade, and the speechless ANBU, Sai took a step forward, and the misty light followed his foot to provide its support. Despite their doubts, the aura surrounding Sai exuded such goodwill and well-meaning intent that they felt compelled to simply watch. He walked in midair over towards Naruto and touched his forehead gently. "Uzumaki Naruto… your indomitable will seeks to always strive forward, even in the direst of circumstances, to protect those important to you and your nindo." He let go of Naruto and hovered over to Kiba, leaving a light tattoo shaped like the Indigo symbol on the Green Lantern's forehead. Once Sai got to the crystal trapping the Inuzuka, he repeated the gesture he had done to Naruto, his hand phasing through the violet construct as if it were not there. "Inuzuka Kiba... your hot-headed loyalty to your comrades and to Akamaru demonstrates your commitment to life in all its forms." The Tribe's symbol appeared on Kiba's forehead as Sai floated towards Akamaru. "Inuzuka Akamaru… your stalwart resolve and devotion to your partner is a testament to the tenacity of all sentients." The ceremonial movement continued with Shino. "Aburame Shino... beneath your cold exterior lies a caring soul that deeply cherishes your bonds with your friends." Finally, Sai moved on to the comatose Star Sapphire. "Hyuuga Hinata... you constantly strive to overcome your own doubts and fears with the strength of your heart and your unwavering love."
Once completed, Sai strode towards the middle of the room, at the center of an imaginary circle that contained the four beds and Akamaru. When he stopped, a watery cascade of indigo gently poured out of his staff and began to float around him. "Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Inuzuka Akamaru, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata..." Sai then gripped the staff with both hands, and the pod's brilliance intensified. His eyes suddenly shot open and blazed with the power of his Tribe. "The indigo light of compassion wishes to heal you!"
Sai swirled the staff around him once, and the mist enveloping him flowed out to cover the five patients. The Indigo Lantern began rhythmically moving the staff in all directions, using his right ringed hand to manipulate the flow of the watery light. As the purple tide channeled past Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, the violet crystals began to disappear, caught and retained in Sai's conjured power. In Hinata's case, the light slowly dislodged the single crystal on her tiara.
"Love." The symbol of the Star Sapphires manifested on Sai's forehead as more and more of the violet constructs were absorbed. The indigo flow began to take a mixed color, and to compensate, Sai continued to summon more indigo light from his staff. The newly-christened member of the Indigo Tribe kept performing his dance-like maneuvers, and over time the constructs encasing the four teenagers withered away. At last, Kiba, Shino, Akamaru, and Naruto were completely free of the crystals. The sapphire that used to be in Hinata's forehead floated high above her, kept in place by the indigo light that began to coalesce around it. In one final motion, Sai gathered all his summoned mist and concentrated it onto the stone, while at the same time he aimed his ring straight onto its core.
"Tor lorek Sai, bor nakka mur,
Natromo faan tornek Root ur,
Ter lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
Taan lek lek nok, formorrow sur!"
A thin yet thick beam of indigo light shot out of Sai's ring and struck the remaining crystal. The leftover shade of compassion's glow in the fluidic light turned to Hinata's violet and began to take on a distinct shape. The crystal glowed bright as the gathered light began to solidify, until it coalesced into the form a six-limbed creature. The beam from Sai's ring finally shattered the central crystal, but instead of dissolving the rest of the Lantern power, the event solidified it, revealing a frightening crystalline monster more alien than anything Sakura, Shizune or Tsunade had ever seen.
"What have you done?" Tsunade asked.
"Do not be alarmed, Hokage-sama," Sai said. "I merely summoned the true form of the entity that had possessed Hyuuga Hinata."
"Possessed? That thing?" Sakura asked. The creature, composed entirely of crystal, had a vague insect-like appearance covered in a thick exoskeleton lined with spiked edges. Its six extremities ended with sharp claws, and its long pointed tail danced gracefully yet dangerously behind it. Its long head lacked any eye-sockets, substituted a nose with a hexagonal crystal, and was lined with two rows of jagged teeth inside a massive mouth. From inside its great maw a low growl like grinding metal filled the room.
"Believe it or not, this entity is the living manifestation of the violet light; the very essence of the power of love," Sai explained. "This is the Predator." On cue, the entity opened its jaws and roared. Its shrill cry, as high-pitched as a buzz-saw slicing through metal, shook the beds and shattered the windows. Only Sai was able to resist its shriek, whereas Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade, and the two ANBU had to cover their ears.
"THAT's love?" Shizune asked incredulously.
"I share your confusion as to its form, though the light of compassion allows me to venture an educated hypothesis," Sai said. He slowly approached the Predator and lifted its hand at it. "When the Star Sapphire power ring approached Hinata, it must have also come into contact with one of Shino's Kikaichu. Due to the nature fo the violet light, I suspect it must have been a queen ready to mate. Instead of succumbing to love, this insect embraced it, and so was elevated above all others. The light of love transformed it into its living embodiment." The entity growled and tentatively breathed in the scent from Sai's hand.
"But love..." Sakura began, "look what it did to the others. How can love be so vicious?"
"Can not love also hurt? Can it not carve a bottomless hole in your heart if that love is scorned?" Sai asked her back. He glanced at her and added: "I empathize with you, Sakura-san, and the pain your feelings for Uchiha Sasuke bring upon you." His words struck Sakura deeper than she expected, and she grasped her heart from the memories that rushed forth. Sai turned back to the Predator and let the creature sniff his hand some more. "Just like the rings of the light that birthed it, this entity is drawn to those that feel deep, unrequited love, and do not know what it is to be loved back."
Suddenly, the Predator opened its massive jaws and tried to bite Sai's hand off his wrist. The Indigo Lantern deftly moved back while he simultaneously created a solid cage around the entity with his ring. "But this creature is still a newborn," he continued. "It is too young to temper its love even if it were requited. At this time, all it seeks is to protect love and life. Though its intentions may be pure, just like a warped love scorned it aims to accomplish this by preserving it in eternal stasis."
"We can't allow it to do that," Tsunade said. "We have to find a way to keep it under control, and if that doesn't work, kill it." The entity roared again in defiance of the Hokage's suggestion, while the two silent ANBUs readied themselves to carry out her command the instant she ordered it.
Sai shook his head. "You cannot eliminate the Predator just as you cannot eradicate love. And unlike the Bijuu, the entity cannot be fully controlled by a single individual." The Predator thrashed in its indigo cage, and it took continued effort from Sai to keep it from breaking apart. "Kurenai-sensei was not wrong. It is a testament to Hyuuga Hinata's inner strength that she managed to contain it for so long. But she would have lost control of it fully in the end. So too would be the fate of any one host for its power."
"But given all that you suddenly know, something tells me you have a plan," Sakura said to him. Sai turned to her with his kind of smile that she couldn't tell if it was genuine or not.
"Like the Bijuu, the entity is a being of energy. Although it cannot be destroyed, the energy can be transformed, or in this case, separated." For a moment, the Predator stopped its thrashing, as if it understood Sai's proposal. "I propose that the Predator be divided into two and placed into dual hosts."
"But it would still be impossible to control!"
"I do not believe so, Hokage-sama. Divided, the Predator will lie dormant, yet it can still experience life, and so slowly temper itself and find true love." The encased entity growled at Sai defiantly, but refrained from further outbursts for the moment.
"Who would become its hosts?" Shizune asked Sai.
"Hinata has already demonstrated some proficiency with the entity, and so should be able to fully control half of its essence. As for the second host, she is before us." Sai turned again to the three kunoichi with the same smile. "Wouldn't you agree, Haruno Sakura?" The three women gasped at his recommendation. Shizune and Tsunade stared at Sakura, while the latter switched between Sai and the alien he had contained.
"Me?" she gawked. "You want to put half of that thing in me?"
"You are a likely choice. You have great love, and great loss, in your heart, do you not?" Sai asked her.
"Stop playing the Sasuke-kun card!" she protested.
"But it's not just Sasuke, isn't it?" Sai countered. "If I may be so bold, why did you become a medic-nin in the first place?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she yelled. "Yes, I want Sasuke-kun back! I can't let him become Orochimaru's next host! But I couldn't let Naruto do it alone! He almost got killed three years ago when he tried! Naruto... he wants to see us together again. Team 7 again..." Sakura sniffed once, then breathed deep to hold back the tears filling her eyes. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"Not me," Sai responded, then gestured to the Predator. It was then Sakura noticed the entity was facing her directly.
"Haruno... Sakura..." it suddenly spoke with a soothing voice nothing alike its jarring screeches from before. Sakura's gaze and attention turned fully to the embodiment of love. The creature growled again, but now it sounded more like a rough purr. Without fully knowing it, Sakura stepped forward closer to the Predator.
"Saku..." Shizune protested, but Tsunade held out her arm in front of her aide. Her other arm shot up towards the ANBU, who obeyed her command to stay put. "Tsunade-sama?"
"I trust Sakura, whatever her choice," the Hokage said.
With another two steps, Sakura was close enough to the Predator. The two stared at each other for some time, neither moving nor speaking. Sakura slowly moved its hand up towards it, and while at first the love entity flinched slightly, it then gently reached with its head and touched her hand. Both Sakura and the Predator breathed deep, as one.
"Do it," Sakura whispered.
"Sakura!" Shizune gawked.
"Are you certain?" Sai asked her.
"Hurry up before I change my mind," she told him.
"Nok." Sai knocked on the ground once with his staff's lower tip, and the cage holding the Predator broke apart. Tsunade, Shizune, and the two ANBU stiffened, expecting the entity to strike quickly, but instead it reached out with one of its arms and touched Sakura's heart. Another of its arms did the same with Hinata's.
"Haruno... Sakura. Hyuuga... Hinata. Great... love."
While the Predator spoke, the Star Sapphire symbol appeared on Sai's forehead, followed then by the Green Lantern sigil, and finally by his own Tribe's seal. "Love. Will. Compassion." Sai aimed his ring at the entity, while from the staff's pod poured two criss-crossing arcs of violet and green light. The two beams enveloped the Predator while from Sai's ring a single, thin indigo laser that gently grew and covered the embodiment of love. The three lights combined and joined with it, transforming its solid, violet body into an ethereal state. Now converted to a ghostly mist, the Predator roared excitedly one last time, then its form split into two smaller yet identical shapes. One reentered Hinata's body, while the other phased straight into Sakura.
"Ah!" the ninja yelled. Just as the entity's form was about to disappear into her, a single shard of its tail broke off and wrapped itself around Sakura's right middle finger. The misty light solidified again, this time into a perfect Star Sapphire power ring.
"Welcome, Star Sapphire." In a burst of violet light, Sakura's clothing instantly transformed into a suit equal to Hinata's. After a fleeting moment, the aura that had surrounded the new Lantern subsided. Seeing her lose her footing, Tsunade rushed and let Sakura collapse onto her waiting arms.
"Sakura?" Shizune said.
"How do you feel?" Tsunade asked her.
"It's... no words..." Sakura stammered. She raised her new ring to her face, and smiled as a single tear streamed down her face. "To wear love... it's beautiful..."
"Tsunade-sama! They're waking up!" one of the ANBU yelled out. The other ninjas and the two newly christened Lanterns looked around and saw the five patients stirring and moaning. Kiba yawned loudly together with Akamaru, while Shino grunted and held his head groggily.
"Naruto... kun," Hinata said weakly, still half-asleep. The Green Lantern woke up for just long enough to see the Hyuuga stir.
"Hinata... thank..." Naruto did not finish his sentence, and instead drifted back into a peaceful sleep.
"EEEEEEHH?" Naruto gawked. When he finally woke up again the next day, the room was filled with people. Shino was already up and standing, while Kiba and Akamaru gorged themselves with treats brought earlier by his mother. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Tsunade were also present. Hinata was still in her bed, but was now wearing her regular clothes even though she still wore her power ring. But Naruto was focused entirely on the two others he was now pointing at. "Sa-sa-sa... Sakura-chan! Sai! You're Lanterns too?"
"Yep!" Sakura grinned as she flashed him a peace sign.
"Nok," Sai affirmed.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Naruto complained.
"I was merely responding affirmatively to your question."
"Just say yes next time, then!"
"Knock it off, Naruto," Sakura complained. Naruto jerked back at her comment.
"You're not gonna go ballistic too, Sakura-chan?" he asked her with a bit more apprehension.
"Long story, but no," she assured him. "Hinata and I are in full control of our power rings now. Right, Hinata?"
"Y-yes," the other Star Sapphire agreed.
"I'm just glad that you're all safe again," Kurenai smiled.
"Don't get too complacent," Tsunade interrupted. "Everyone may be fine now, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down."
"The nature of these rings and the different lights," Kakashi said. "There is much we have to follow up on, Hokage-sama."
"The four of you," she gestured to the four Lanterns, "I want you in my office tomorrow morning. I have a lot of questions regarding these rings, and the Predator. Until then, rest up."
"No way!" Naruto complained. "I lost a lot of training and hero days. I gotta make up for that, stat!" The blonde Green Lantern promptly threw off his sheets and jumped out of bed.
Everyone in the room tensed up, gasped or eye-twitched horribly. Kiba nearly choked on a dumpling, while Hinata's face turned beet red and she fainted on the spot.
"What?" Naruto asked. He looked down at himself.
No one had bothered to wake him up before to give him a hospital robe.
"GAAAAH!" he yelled when he saw he was naked. A single thought to his ring summoned his Lantern uniform to him, but by then it was too late.
"Narutooooo..." Sakura hissed. Her own violet ring flared as she grit her teeth and scrunched her face.
"So-so-sorry! I-I-I-I..." he stammered. Sakura took a step forward towards him, and before he could react, she raised her fist high.
"SHANNAROOOOOOO!" The violet ring conjured a massive fist construct in response to Sakura's thoughts, and the solid crystal punch smashed Naruto right on the face. The Green Lantern was sent flying back, breaking the concrete wall behind him, and out into the village.
"YAAAAAAH!" Naruto yelled as he flew out, first from the impact, then under his ring's power to get away from Sakura.
"I'M NOT DONE YET!" the newer Star Sapphire shouted back, and displaying an instant mastery of her ring, she flew out straight after her teammate.
Everyone left in the hospital room, including Akamaru, sweatdropped.
"Is the entity inside Sakura out of control again?" Kiba asked.
"I disagree," Shino said. "Why? Because this is Haruno Sakura's usual behavior towards Naruto."
"Shouldn't you stop her?" Kakashi asked Sai.
"Klek tok. Even compassion has its limits," the Indigo Lantern responded nervously while he scratched his own cheek lightly.
Above in the clear skies of Konoha the merry Lantern chase continued. "GET BACK HERE!"
"SAKURA-CHAN! NO MORE! IF THIS IS WHAT LOVE IS, I'M SWEARING IT OFF!"
"IT'S CALLED TOUGH LOVE, PERVERT! AND LOVE CONQUERS ALL!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
...
Heh.
Author's blurb: Compassion (n): a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
Two Sapphires and Indigo Sai… not what I originally had in mind, but the presence of the Predator was not part of the original plan either. I guess it's true what they say that stories take on a life of their own.
And is it just me, or did Kishimoto like some ideas from Blackest Night? Based on the latest chapters of the manga, my first thought was that the kunai Kabuto used to bring back and control all those dead ninjas with Edo Tensei must've been made from Black Lantern rings.
This warrants further, careful observation.