Smallville/Naruto
Seizing the Future
Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Naruto; Smallville is owned by Warner Brothers television and its creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and is based on 'Superman' created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Manga series' Naruto' is owned by its creator Masashi Kishimoto and all characters featured in Naruto are the property of said author, all Smallville characters are owned by DC comics.
This work is strictly for Fan enjoyment and no profit is derived from it.
Fanfiction Written by; Dean Donnell.
Chapter 11
The first thing that Tayuya was aware of as she regained consciousness was that she was lying in a hospital bed, not that such a thing was surprising, her back was healed but still felt tender, she was stiff and sore and she still had a bit of a headache, but on the whole she was feeling a lot better than she had just prior to losing consciousness.
The next thing she became aware of was that the hospital sheets were the only thing covering her, underneath them she was naked, raising her head a little and turning it to the right she caught sight of a clean set of clothes sitting on the small dressing table beside the bed along with her flute.
The curtain was drawn and she was the only one on this side of it so she got out of bed, moving stiffly due to her aching muscles and got dressed in the clothes that had been left for her, but those clothes didn't include shoes she noted, apparently Tsunade didn't want her leaving the hospital just yet.
Just how badly had she been hurt?
"Tayuya," the voice calling to her from the other side of the curtain was Clark's voice "are you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm awake Clark," Tayuya called back "come to get my lazy ass up eh?"
"From the sounds of it you're up already," Clark observed; a smile audible in his voice "are you decent?"
"I'm clothed if that's what you mean," Tayuya replied "come on in Clark, I could use the company."
"Thank god you're okay," Clark said with obvious relief as he pushed the curtain aside and walked up beside the bed "I was really worried about you when I heard what happened, I got back here as quickly as I could, from what I heard you were in rough shape when they brought you in here."
"Why is it that you care so much about me Clark?" Tayuya asked, her brow furrowing in curiosity "besides compassion that is."
"Well," Clark replied after a moment's thought "I guess it's because I identify with some of what you've been through and are still going through and also I've come to think of you as family, you're like a little sister to me."
"I think I can live with that," Tayuya replied with a genuine smile "I've actually come to think of you as family too Clark, it's nice to have a family again, and having a big brother like you is pretty damn cool."
"I can't wait to introduce you to my Mom and my cousin," Clark smiled "and to Lana as well, they're great people, and I'm sure they'll like you little sis."
"I'm okay with you callin' me sis," Tayuya smirked "but drop the 'little' okay, and if you decide to call me 'little sis' anyhow you'd better not lead with 'cute.'"
"Oh I learned my lesson about calling you cute;" Clark assured the young girl who had become family to him "having you mad at me isn't exactly a pleasant experience."
"I can actually make a hero nervous," Tayuya noted smugly "how about that."
"You realize you're a hero yourself now sis?" Clark reminded her "you were willing to risk your life to save somebody you didn't even know, can't get more heroic than that," Clark smiled warmly at Tayuya "I'm so proud of you."
For a moment Tayuya was too choked up with emotion to speak, the whole time she was with Orochimaru, never once had he said he was proud of her, but Clark had, and he'd shown her more kindness and brotherly love inside three weeks than Orochimaru could have shown anybody in his entire life.
"Thanks-Clark," Tayuya finally managed to say "you have no idea just how much that means to me."
"Hasn't anybody ever said they were proud of you before?" Clark asked, shocked that this would be so.
"My Mom might have, but I was too young to remember," Tayuya replied "you're the first that I can remember, Orochimaru certainly never said anything like that the heartless bastard."
"That's a shame," Clark replied "but I am proud of you sis, and I will always believe in you."
"Y'know," Tayuya mused thoughtfully "saving lives, I could get used to that."
"It feels good doesn't it?" Clark asked rhetorically.
"It's fucking awesome," Tayuya declared happily "to know that someone is alive and can live a full and prosperous life when they otherwise would be dead, and to know that it's thanks to you? That's the best feeling in the whole damn world."
"And as long as the person you saved doesn't turn out to be an utter bastard like Lex Luthor it keeps right on feeling good too," Clark added.
"Wait, you saved Lex's life?" Tayuya asked, her brow furrowing slightly in thought.
"First life I ever saved," Clark replied with a nod "he was still a decent person back then, unfortunately the influence of his father Lionel Luthor was too strong, I saved his life but I couldn't save him from sliding into darkness."
"I guess none of us are really born evil," Tayuya surmised with a sigh "so I guess Lionel is as much of a bastard as Lex?"
"Back in the day he was," Clark confirmed "he's-mellowed in recent years, still a bastard though, just not as much of one."
"Yeah," Tayuya nodded "but Lex isn't just a bastard from what I can understand, he's an ungrateful bastard, you saved his life and how did he repay you? By having you investigated behind your back."
"Even so, I'd still save him if his life was in danger;" Clark declared "I'm a firm believer that every life is worth saving."
"I guess so," Tayuya admitted "although I probably wouldn't consider Orochimaru worth saving, but he's not really a person in my opinion, he's a monster."
