Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Double Arts.
Summary: When team 7 was called on a simple C-rank mission they were not expecting a result like this. During the C-rank mission while chasing after the bandits, Naruto run into a mysterious white hair girl, who was on the floor, coughing blood. Being who he was Naruto ran up to the girl, and when they came into contact their lives changed forever… AU. Story happens before Zabuza Arc. NarutoXOC
A/N: After writing this chapter, I realize I cannot for the life of me, write angst, that's good in that this will be the last time this'll happen. Due to the fact that I can only write so much angst before something happy happens, this chapter came out way less angst then I first imagine it to be, oh well! Since this is a transition chapter, I apologize for the short length ^^.
Double Arts
Chapter 11: Comatose Aftermath
Two days have passed since the battle with Taisho and his group. With the exception of Naruto, Yuki, Hinata and Kiba, the rest of the group had only sustained minor injuries, if any at all. They were at the hospital located in the country of tea. Kakashi was wandering the halls of the hospital checking up on everyone. He first entered the room where Kiba and Hinata were recovering. The pair had sustained heavy injuries after their brief clash with Taisho. They both had several broken ribs, though it wasn't anything life threatening. Kiba was even up and chatting as if nothing had happen. Hinata remained quiet, though she was looking far better than she had two days ago, when they had brought her in. "Kakashi," Kurenai greeted when she noticed him.
Kurenai and Shino were tasked with watching over their team, after all, besides his own team, Team 8 had suffered the most injuries in the fight. "How is the situation?" Kurenai asked.
"Asuma, Gai and their teams, along with Sasuke and Sakura have gone to help rebuilt the damages in the village," Kakashi replied. Indeed, besides the mansion, the villages itself suffered various degrees of damage from the battles the guards at the frontline had against the invading force. Taisho had a far larger group then they had first anticipated, as most of his forces were used to create a path for his main group to enter.
"What about those two...?" Kurenai asked softly, as Kiba stopped talking. They were all staring at Kakashi with various degrees of worry.
"It's a little awkward in there," Kakashi replied simply. "I'm going to go check on them now," Kakashi replied as he turned towards the door.
Team 8 looked down onto the floor as they each had their own worries of what was going on. "This wouldn't have happened if I was stronger," Kiba said as he slammed his fist onto the bed.
"Calm down Kiba, don't make this situation any worse," Kurenai said.
-
Knocking softly against the door, Kakashi received no reply. With a soft sigh, he turned the door slowly, as he peeked inside. The room was brightly lit, as the sun filled the room with light from outside. Naruto was seated next to a bed, as he held onto Yuki's hand. He had a depressed look on his face, the light in his eyes were gone, as he stared at Yuki's sleeping face. There were shadows under his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep. Several plates of food and bowls of ramen were left untouched on the small drawer next to him. "Naruto," Kakashi said softly, but received no reply from the normally alert boy.
Walking up behind the boy, Kakashi placed one hand onto Naruto's shoulder which seemed to finally catch his attention. Naruto turned slowly towards Kakashi, without any emotion, he greeted monotonously, "Kakashi-sensei."
"Naruto, I understand that you're worried, but, starving yourself and not getting enough sleep won't do you any good," Kakashi said.
Naruto turned away from Kakashi as he stared at Yuki again. "I know you feel it's your fault that this happened, but it isn't, so stop blaming yourself for everything, I know Yuki won't," Kakashi continued worriedly.
It was natural that Naruto would worry about Yuki as after the fight with Taisho, she had fallen into a coma. A coma that the doctors say she has a slim chance of waking up from. "How can I not blame myself," Naruto began softly. "This only happened because I was too weak, I succumbed to Kyuubi's powers," Naruto continued.
"If you have to blame anyone, it should be us for not coming to your aid sooner, if you hadn't used its power, Sakamoto-sama would have been killed," Kakashi explained.
"It was my fault because I was too slow to react! We could have taken that attack if Yuki didn't have to protect me as well, there was no need to rely on Kyuubi if I was stronger," Naruto retorted angrily.
"And what?" Kakashi said. He was starting to get angry himself. "You would have continued to fight? Naruto, Kyuubi's chakra might have caused all this, but it can also be considered a blessing" Kakashi tried again as he calmed down. "If it wasn't for Kyuubi's chakra suppressing her curse, Yuki would have died. You guys were separated for far too long."
"A blessing, how could this be a blessing?" Naruto yelled angrily. "Because of Kyuubi's chakra, Yuki's chakra coils were all damaged. Besides the high chances of ending her ninja career, there is the possibility that she'd never wake up... she might even lose her life!"
It was a common fact that a demon's energy was far too dangerous for the human body. That was the very reason why the Yondaime had no choice but to seal the Kyuubi into a newborn baby. A grown body's chakra coils were far too developed, making it too risky to hold Kyuubi's limitless amount of chakra. In the case of Naruto, as a newborn baby, his chakra coil adapted to Kyuubi's energy, making his body capable of handling the demon's energy. Whereas Yuki's did not, damaging her body internally. Repairing damage of that level was far too difficult for normal civilian doctors. Even med-nin's had little to no experience in treating that level of injury.
"It's true that that the doctors say she might not wake up, but, in the end they are civilians, their specialties do not lie in treating these type of injuries," Kakashi tried to reassure. "Once we return to the village, I'm sure our med-nins will be able to heal Yuki," Kakashi continued. Though he was saying it, he knew the chances were slim at most.
Naruto kept silent now as he turned away from Kakashi. The boy might not be a great liar, but his talent in seeing through people's lie are almost second to none. Kakashi clenched his fist tightly. Despite his seemingly calm behaviour, he was worried and angry as well. He was their sensei after all, yet despite that, he was unable to help them, before and even after, he could only stand aside, hoping for the best. I've seen their strength, I thought, it's Naruto and Yuki, they'll be able to handle it. I was too naive. They've become really strong, but that fight was clearly out of their league, yet I wasn't able to help them. Kakashi thought as he silently left the room, taking one last look at Naruto. At moments like this, what should I do... sensei, Obito. Kakashi thought before closing the door.
-
"Hey, can we get a hand over here?" A construction worker yelled out. He was waving towards several of the genin, towards a large fallen plank.
"A-ah, okay!" Sakura replied. She was worried about Naruto and Yuki's situation. They all were, though some to a lesser degree than others.
"Sakura..., I know you're worried, so just leave this to me, alright?" Ino said kindly.
"It's alright, I'm fine," Sakura replied, giving Ino a fake smile. Running up towards the construction worker, Sakura helped him lift the plank. Ino stood at a distance watching. Ino knew that Sakura was worried, heck, she was extremely worried, and she didn't even know Naruto and Yuki that well.
If those two didn't hold that monster back, not only would we have failed our mission, there was no doubt we'd be in trouble too. Ino thought. Indeed, if Naruto and Yuki hadn't been holding back Taisho the whole fight, not only would Sakamoto and Hideyoshi have been killed, Taisho could have turned towards the rest of them.
"Is she really alright?" Shikamaru asked softly as he and Chouji walked up towards Ino from behind. They were staring at Sakura who was helping out several other construction workers.
"I'm sure she is worried, but she'll be fine," Ino replied. "I'm really concerned about Yuki. Naruto too," Ino continued.
"There's nothing to worry about, after all, those two are so strong," Chouji reassured, though he didn't seem too sure of his words.
"E-excuse me," a nervous voice asked from behind the trio.
Team 10 turned towards the source of the voice and realized it was Hideyoshi. He looked extremely worried. "Tetsuya-san," Ino greeted with surprise. She wasn't expecting him to be around. The boy was in shock after they had safely evacuated the hall. Though, it was to be expected, after all, he was a civilian, one with noble background. He probably hadn't faced anything of that level in his life. Feeling the intense killing intent of an S-class criminal, watching his friend (crush) beaten nearly to death, and coming extremely close to being killed himself.
"I-is Yu-yuki-chan alright?" Hideyoshi stuttered out nervously. He had lost all contact regarding her situation after the night's event.
Team 10 glanced at each other, unsure as to how to break the news to the boy. "Her injuries have all mostly healed," Ino began, as she glanced at her team for help.
"I-is that so! That's good," Hideyoshi said happily. His smile was gone when he saw the nervous glances between team 10.
"Y-yuki's injuries have all healed, bu-but-," Chouji stuttered out.
"Right now, she is in a coma, the doctors say that the chances of her waking up are extremely slim," Shikamaru finished seriously.
"W-what?!" Hideyoshi yelled. "I-i have to go see her!" Hideyoshi said urgently.
"Stop," Shikamaru interrupted the boy, he was extremely serious. "You going there won't change anything, in fact, if you go now, you'll only aggravate the situation even further," Shikamaru continued logically. "Naruto is currently with Yuki, and his current mood can only be described as dangerous, if you carelessly go in, we cannot guarantee your safety."
"What's going on here?" Asuma asked as he walked up towards his team.
"Asuma-sensei," Ino greeted as she signalled with her eyes towards the trembling Hideyoshi.
Oh boy, where is Kurenai when you need someone to deal with this. Asuma thought. "Hideyoshi-sama, what brings you here today?" Asuma asked kindly.
"N-no, it's nothing important," Hideyoshi replied with clenched fist. "I'm sorry for taking your time when you all are so busy helping fix this village," Hideyoshi said with a bow.
"T-that's alright, we're not really that busy," Ino said quickly.
Hideyoshi excused himself as he began to walk away. When he was far enough, Shikamaru sighed and muttered, "How troublesome... love that is."
-
"How are they doing?" Sakamoto asked. He was standing near the ruins of the destroyed mansion where the battle happened. He was overlooking the reconstruction of the village, though he had momentarily paused to speak with his acquaintance.
"They?" A man behind Sakamoto asked.
"You know who I'm talking about, Jiraiya, how are those two doing?" Sakamoto repeated calmly.
"Things aren't looking too good. The young lady is in a coma right now, though that's to be expected. Forcefully using demonic chakra like that will cause a normal human body to self-destruct. In fact, she's lucky she is still so young, her body was able to adapt, if even a little. If she were an adult, the intrusion of Kyuubi's chakra would have killed her almost instantly," Jiraiya explained. "As for Naruto, he's fine, physically at least. Though mentally, he is a little unstable. He has it somewhere in his head that everything was his fault," Jiraiya said with a small shake of his head. "He's the same as his father and mother, that sense of responsibility must run in the family," Jiraiya finished.
"Will they be fine? Is there any way for Yuki to wake up? She has done a lot for the Tetsuya family. It would be far too tragic for such incredibly talented individuals to meet their end now," Sakamoto said.
"Hmm, you seem awfully worried for two little genin," Jiraiya said with an amused smile.
"They have yet to realize their true potentials. Don't you think it'd be a shame for them to die now?" Sakamoto asked. "In the future, they would surely be famous and acknowledged."
"The young lady's injuries are far too severe, there isn't any ordinary doctor or med-nin that can save her," Jiraiya explained.
"Is that so..."
"That being said, it doesn't mean that no one out there could save her," Jiraiya said with a grin. "I've already sent word to the old man. I should be receiving a reply soon."
-
One day after the battle with Taisho...
Sarutobi was sitting in his office working on the stacks of paperwork laid out around him. A Hokage's job was anything but exciting, filled with endless mountains of sweet, sweet torment. He was awaiting news of the mission in the country of tea, hoping it everything had gone well. To his pleasant surprise, it wasn't a bird that flew into his office, but that of a toad. "Yo, old guy, got a message for you from Jiraiya," the toad greeted rudely.
So Jiraiya also went, hopefully he had everything under control. Sarutobi thought as took the scroll the toad left on the table. "Thank you for your hard work," Sarutobi said as the toad nodded. The toad sat down as he waited for Sarutobi to finish.
Rolling open the scroll, Sarutobi's smile disappeared as he read the mission briefing. The situation was far worse than he had anticipated. He never thought that such a large group of missing-nin could have snuck into their borders. Though Konoha suffered little casualties, Sarutobi was angry at his lack of preparedness. Luckily, no major VIPs were harmed, thanks to Jiraiya's intervention. As Sarutobi's eyes scanned the pages, Yuki and Naruto's names caught his utmost of attention. After reading through the whole scroll, Sarutobi quickly began writing his reply. When Sarutobi finished his reply, he turned to the young toad, "Please take this to Jiraiya," Sarutobi said.
"Alright, see ya later, old guy," The toad said as he disappeared in a burst of smoke.
Sighing as he leaned back into his chair, Sarutobi whispered, "I leave everything in your hands, Jiraiya."
-
"Are you all ready to go?" Kakashi asked the large group of genin. They were all standing outside the hospital after Kiba, Hinata and Yuki were discharged. To obtain more specialized treatment back in Konoha, the doctors allowed Yuki to be discharged despite her situation.
Naruto was standing at the back of the group and he was carrying Yuki on his back. He was still remaining silent, which was causing worry amongst the group. They were not used to the hyperactive boy being so silent, even during his serious moments. "I estimate it'll take us about three days to return to Konoha," Gai explained. Indeed, with Yuki's condition, they had no choice but to go at a normal pace, so as not to worsen her situation. Hinata and Kiba too had their own share of injuries.
The large group of Konoha-nin, with an air of awkward silence around them, made their way towards the village gate. When they arrived, Kakashi, who was at the head of the group, was the first to notice a tall white haired man leaning against the gates. "Jiraiya-sama!" Kakashi greeted respectfully.
Jiraiya turned towards them and greeted with a small wave of his hand, "Yo." Walking towards the group, the genin and jounin parted ways for the legendary toad sage, as he made his way towards the back of the group. Stopping in front of Naruto, Jiraiya towered over the younger boy. Naruto looked up at Jiraiya, with an overly serious expression. "What's with this serious and brooding face, you're still a child, act like one," Jiraiya said as he grabbed Naruto's cheeks with both his hands, stretching it.
Naruto was at first surprised, before anger replaced his shock. "W-what the hell!" Naruto lashed out as he pulled away from the older man. He was careful not to make too much of a motion as to disturb Yuki. "Who are you, old man?" Naruto asked angrily.
The rest of the konoha-nin all had various looks of disbelief. "N-naruto, he's Jiraiya-sama, one of the legendary sannin of Konoha," Sakura explained. "How can you not know who he is?"
Naruto stared blankly back at Sakura, a look of confusion on his face. The Naruto right now reminded the group of the Naruto they knew, lightening the awkward mood from before. "I am the holy sennin from Mt. Myobokuzan, Jiraiya! Remember it, boy!" Jiraiya announced proudly as he exaggeratedly danced and posed.
"Can we please get going, we have to bring Yuki back to Konoha as soon as possible," Naruto said seriously, blatantly ignoring Jiraiya's presence.
"Wait one second!" Jiraiya called out dramatically after Naruto, who was making his way through the group of stunned Konoha-nin.
"What?" Naruto dead panned, a vein was throbbing on his forehead. He was extremely worried about Yuki's condition. In hopes of getting some better treatment, they had to make haste for Konoha. Yet, out of nowhere, a strange clown was getting in their way.
"You're coming with me," Jiraiya said seriously.
"W-what?" Most of the genin, with Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino and Neji as exception, exclaimed.
"What? Did I not say it clearly? You're coming with me," Jiraiya repeated as he pointed at Naruto. "The both of you," Jiraiya corrected himself.
"Jiraiya-sama, right now, Yuki requires medical attention, is there any reason for you to be taking them away?" Kurenai asked.
"I know what happened to the girl's body, and I also know it's not at a level where the med-nin at Konoha can treat," Jiraiya began. "As far as I know, there is only one person in this world with the expertise to deal with this. Do you get what I'm trying to say, brat? You're coming with me to find the legendary medic herself, one of the three sannin, Tsunade."
Naruto's eyes widened when he finally processed what Jiraiya had said. "T-this Tsunade can help Yuki?" Naruto asked.
"Of course," Jiraiya reassured confidently.
"T-that's great!" Sakura exclaimed with joy. "Isn't that right, guys?" Sakura asked the rest of the genin.
"Y-yes," Hinata agreed with a smile. "I'm glad that Yuki-san will be fine," Hinata continued, her eyes were tearing up with joy. Hinata, like Kiba, had blamed herself for what had happened to Yuki. She hated herself for being weak, for being taken out by Taisho and for not being able to help Naruto and Yuki.
"W-what are we waiting for! Let's get going!" Naruto said. His eyes were filled with a newfound light. For the first time in the past two days, there was a small smile threatening to spread across his face.
"Naruto...," Kiba called out silently. Naruto turned to him, confused at Kiba's timid voice. "Y-you have to find Tsunade-sama, and you have to save Yuki," Kiba continued seriously. Kiba was blaming himself for what had happened. On top of that, he felt that he had broken a promise, a promise that they'd get stronger and fight again.
Naruto quickly realized what was making Kiba so uncomfortable. I see, I thought I was the one worrying about Yuki the most, but in the end, I was just selfish, wasn't I? Kiba, Hinata, and the others, they were all worried too. Everyone, to some degree, they all blamed themselves, but I was acting like a child. Naruto smiled softly, "Kiba-," Naruto began as Kiba looked up at Naruto and saw his confident smile. "It's not your fault that this happened. Don't worry and leave the rest to me. I'll definitely find Tsunade and bring Yuki back, that's a promise!" Naruto announced confidently as he gave Kiba a thumbs up.
Kiba looked surprised, before he smiled. "We're leaving everything to you," Kiba said as he held out a fist, which Naruto bumped with his own.
While Naruto and Kiba were conversing, Kakashi and Jiraiya had moved away from the group. "Jiraiya-sama, we have been unable to find Tsunade-sama all these years, surely it's dangerous to go on such a reckless hunt," Kakashi said logically.
"Don't worry, I only suggested this because I've recently got some leads on her where about, but that dang princess can't stay in one place because of all her debts," Jiraiya replied with a grin. "I'll have them back before the chunin exam," Jiraiya finished.
"Is that so? Please take care of them, Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said with a small grateful bow. The two broke out of their conversation when they heard Naruto talking. Kakashi smiled softly when he heard Naruto's speech. "That boy, without me noticing, he's grown up again," Kakashi said proudly.
"Like father, like son-," Jiraiya began proudly, before pausing as he turned to Kakashi seriously, "-I think it's time. Kakashi. Since you're their sensei, I must ask you first, can you leave them in my hands from now on?"
"Naruto and Yuki have long since out grown my teaching, I leave everything to you, Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi replied with a smile. "I'm sure they will reach their full potential under your guidance."
"Thank you," Jiraiya said as he walked away from Kakashi and towards Naruto. "Yo, kid, we're going now."
"Alright, I'll see you guys soon," Naruto said as he gave his friends a grin.
"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly.
"Take care, Naruto, and be safe," Sakura added.
"If anything happens to Yuki, I'll have your head, okay, Naruto?" Ino said with a smile. Shikamaru sweat drops at the fact that Ino was announcing a death threat with a smile.
"Yosha, I'm sure you'll revive Yuki-chan's flames of youth, Naruto-kun!" Lee announced enthusiastically. "Right, Gai-sensei?"
"That's right!" Gai replied with equal enthusiasm.
"Naruto, I'm sure Tsunade-sama can help Yuki-chan, she is Konoha's, no, the world's greatest medic and Kunoichi. Yuki-chan is really strong, she'll wake up again, I'm sure of it!" Tenten encouraged.
"Good luck, Naruto," Shino spoke out silently.
"We'll be waiting for you return," Chouji said.
"Naruto, I've known you since our academy days," Shikamaru began as he walked out from the group, "You will always move forward despite any hardship, I know you'll bring Yuki back without doubt, don't prove me wrong now," Shikamaru finished seriously as he and Naruto exchange grins.
"I won't disappoint you guys," Naruto said confidently. Turning around, Naruto looked at Jiraiya, "Thank you for waiting, I'm ready to go now."
"Good luck, Naruto," Kurenai said as Naruto walked by.
"When you guys return, I'll treat you to some ramen, neh, Naruto, Yuki," Asuma added.
"Naruto, we await for both of your return," Kakashi finished.
"We will!" Naruto finished as he followed Jiraiya out of the village gate. Turning back once more to his friends, he lets out a foxy grin and a thumb up.
-
Yuki's eyes opened, she was lying on a clearing under the shade of several trees. There was a cool breeze in the air as she sat up groggily. Her body ached all over, and her memories were a little foggy.
"Yuki! Let's start sparring now," A voice called out for her. Yuki turned to the source of the voice, it was a beautiful woman, and she had long white hair.
"I'm coming, okaa-san!" Yuki yelled out as she quickly got to her feet and ran towards her mother, a large smile on her face.
-
Chapter 11: The search for the legendary medic begins! What's this?! Yuki's lingering feelings for a life with her parents!
A/N: When you think coma, you'd obviously think an obligatory dream sequence! Well, it's partly for me to have something to lengthen the chapters, but, that doesn't mean it'd serve no purpose (Hint, Hint, just what did Yuki forget when she was young? :D). There's also the chance to write Yuki's parents into the story, if even for a tiny moment, how fun!
This chapter also reinforces that Naruto is indeed growing up, well, that doesn't mean I won't have him acting like a moron, because frankly, he hasn't grown that much yet!
Tsunade enters the story now! Did anyone see this coming? With her brings a plot device I've been holding back for a while. What that is however, will have to wait till next chapter. Honestly though, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting mixed reaction from it, I think. You're welcome to try and guess what it is. The reason why I added this is because I want to see if anyone thought of the same idea!
For the sake of getting this chapter out as soon as possible, I've decided not to write the Zabuza side story, mostly because the plot in that has gotten me in a stump. Also, there'll be a break as I have to focus on other things. Hopefully everything gets back on track in a week or so. Until next time!