Chapter 11: Kirigakure's Hospital.

Hinata sat up when she felt Kosuke's presence leave, and watched him call the Ninja. When he turned to her, she saw his eyes look at her with a helpless expression, and he fell to the floor. Alarmed, she crawled over to her, ignoring the pain, and patted his head. He looked at her, with all the frustration within him showing clearly on his face. That's when the medic Ninja arrived. That's when Kosuke panicked.

He looked at the Medic ninja frozen for a second, and then he spun round to Hinata. He scooped her up, ignoring her winces and revulsion at his touch, and sped out into the street. He navigated easily a maze of side streets, before bursting out onto the Plaza with the fountain. Hinata looked around, shielding her eyes from the light intensity, and jerked round in Kosuke's grasp as she heard the distinctive yell of Yamato.

Kosuke heard it too, and took off sprinting towards him. He jerked to a halt, and Hinata felt him dump her in Yamato's grasp. She froze, uncomfortable with her current situation, but, didn't have time to asses it as Kosuke ordered Yamato to follow him. Kosuke parted the crowds with shouts of "Amaya emergency! MOVE!", and led them to the tall building Hinata assumed to be the Hospital by the concentration of Chakra. By now, every part of her was aching, and she had the overpowering desire to scrub herself down. Kosuke bounded up to the desk, and pointed at Hinata.

"She and 15 other women, who are to arrive here, are all rape victims. I want the full proper procedure, okay? Definitely on this one, and on as many as the other 15 as you can, okay?" the nurse nodded, looking sadly at Hinata. "Okay, where is Miyuki Amaya?" he asked again urgently, turning the full force of his desperate gaze on her. Hinata remembered when he'd shouted at her the very first time she'd met him, and it was so intimidating it made you want to obey.

"Er, 3rd floor, room 65…" she said, and Kosuke disappeared completely, and papers flew off the desk in the wind he made.

"Kimi…" Yamato said slowly, looking down at her with an undecipherable expression. Hinata looked up carefully, fighting the urge to wriggle out of his grasp. "Was…Kosuke telling the…truth…? Were you…?" his voice trailed away, and Hinata felt her throat close up. She looked down, and gave a sharp nod, before letting out a few choked sobs. Suddenly, she felt Shino and Sakura. They must've been with Miyuki, and come to find her when Kosuke turned up. Sakura was out of breath, they must've really run.

"Hina-Kimi!" Sakura gasped, and flung her arms round Hinata. Hinata winced in pain, and Sakura frowned, and reached out to check her out. Hinata pushed her hand away, not wanting Sakura to know. "N-No, w-we should w-wait. Th-they have t-to d-do something w-with me first. A p-procedure or s-something…" Hinata said meekly, as Medic ninja burst in behind her, just as doctors appeared in front of her. "You! Aoko Kimi! You're up first!"

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Kosuke flew up the corridor, towards his mother's room. He skidded to a halt as he heard her agonised cry. He saw Sakura and Shino. Sakura stood outside, but she didn't look worried. She just had a look of sympathy as she watched the door which was the room for him. Sakura looked round at Kosuke, and smiled. "Normal behaviour for labour. Where's Hinata?" she asked, looking behind him as if expecting her to show up.

"Well, Yuuna, she's downstairs with your father. She'll need to stay in hospital for a while" he said, and saw Sakura turn white, and moved out the way as Shino flashed past him.

"Slowly! This is a hospital!" he called after them, and saw Sakura sprint after him, at a pace acceptable for famers. He took a deep breath, and opened the door to his mother's room.

His father was at one end of the room, pacing, Tsuyu, looking worn and tired, was sat in a chair, watching anxiously his mother, who lay on the bed her face screwed up in pain. Kosuke stood frozen, knowing there was nothing he could do to help this along. Finally his mother's face cleared, and she rubbed her swollen stomach with love.

"I wish the contractions would even out. They're not steady at all! Its getting really annoying, I've bin in here for over an hour!" she complained, and the doctor at hand merely smiled.

"Every woman's labour is different, but, if yours is the same as the last two" he shot looks at Kosuke and Tsuyu, "you better settle in for a long ride, because, this baby will be in no hurry, like the last two" he said, shaking his head. Tsuyu grinned sheepishly, but Kosuke just nodded.

Asa approached Miyuki, and kissed her head, before sitting heavily on a chair beside her bed.

"I hate this. I hated it the first 2 times, but now it's worse than last time, because it was induced by stress! And, you're still unwell! You don't have the full strength to hold out for the time that it took Kosuke and Tsuyu to be born!" Asa said, lowering his head into his right hand, his left fist clenching and unclenching in frustration. Miyuki laughed;

"Oh, shush. So what if I fall asleep? I'll just be tired Asa dear, nothing bad will happen! I've done this twice, like you said, so it's usually shorter the more experience you have, right? So, stop your worrying. Now, Kosuke, what the hell's wrong with you?" His mother demanded, in the only way a mother could.

Kosuke suddenly was aware he was wearing a foul expression, and was stood there tense and unmoving. He looked at Miyuki, then at Asa, who was looking at him interested.

"Hinata" Kosuke said shortly, and then groaned in self loathing, crouching down suddenly, placing his face in his hands.

"Is she alright?" Miyuki asked her voice gentle.

"She'll live" Kosuke said, his voice muffled by his hands.

"Then what's the problem?" Asa asked, shifting a bit in his chair.

"Because! I let…I let…" he trailed off, then growled in utter frustration, before spitting out his words, "I let her get raped for the sake of putting the men in jail! I could've stopped them a hundred times, but I didn't! I could've spared her this! I could've spared myself this! There was enough evidence in that room with the 15 other women who were being raped for me to put them all in jail, but, I was… So. Angry."

He curled tighter in on himself, clenching his jaw, listening to the shock of his mother father, and the slight confusion of Tsuyu.

"You had to get the evidence. That's your job. If it wasn't Hinata, you wouldn't have found them in the first place, because it just would've been some other random girl, and she'd be there now. You made a mistake by leaving it for so long, but, Hinata will understand. She will. She's not one to hold a grudge" Asa said, with the cold certainty of a leader who made difficult choices.

"No, because, she didn't have to be raped, but I let it happen!" Kosuke said, his voice laced with terrible guilt.

"You're talking as if you planned the rape, and that everything is all your fault. Because it's not. You didn't rape her, so you're not the one to blame. Those men who you've caught, are the ones to blame" Miyuki said, before sucking in her breath in pain.

Kosuke's head snapped up and watching his mother struggle with the pain. When it faded, she looked at Asa.

"How long?"

"5 minutes" Asa said, smiling slightly

"What?? The last one, was like half a minute apart! This totally is messed up. Goodness Kumo, you're being awfully unstable!" Miyuki said her voice happy as she leaned forward to put her head closer to the baby that lay inside of her. Kosuke smiled. He felt like being alone. But, he waited with his mother, unable to drift off or nap, not with his mother suffering.

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6 O'clock pm

Hinata was wheeled into her room, feeling very very unclean. She had hated that rape evidence collector. This doctor had to examine every inch of her, and take saliva samples from her bruises. It took nearly two hours! Hinata tried to move, but every inch of her screamed in protest. She looked at Sakura pleadingly, and Sakura helped her up and out of bed. Her pelvis and tops of legs literally burned as she hobbled to the bathroom, thanking Sakura. She got in the bath, enjoying the warmth. She realised that the full weight of the situation had yet to reach home, but, she was happy in this strange bliss like trance.

But, her bliss had yet to stop her scrubbing her entire body red raw. When she finally heaved herself from her bath, her skin was pink, but raw over her neck, breasts, stomach and legs. She still felt repulsed by herself, but, she knew she was clean. She wrung out her hair, and dressed herself in hospital pyjama's, before coming out of the bathroom, approximately half an hour after she had went in. Sakura had made frequent visits to Miyuki, but, she was still there where Hinata appeared again.

Hinata hobbled to her bed, and climbed under the covers grateful to lie down. It just hurt to stand or walk. Just then, Kosuke walked in, his expression haggard, worn and abused, carrying a sleeping Tsuyu.

"Sorry to interrupt, but, Tsuyu couldn't sleep in mother's room, and he's desperately tired, but refuses to return to the Mansion. Can he sleep on that sofa? I'd feel better if he was here" he said, addressing Hinata. Hinata simply smiled and nodded. She didn't really want to talk, especially since she's damaged something screaming so much.

"Right, now you're here Kosuke, tell us exactly what happened to Hinata. And why exactly, has she been raped? And don't give me that shocked look. She hobbling around, and had nearly scrubbed her own skin off! Look at her! She's salmon pink she scrubbed that hard!" Sakura demanded, her anger exploding over. Kosuke looked at her, and sighed, sitting, placing Tsuyu down on the sofa.

"You don't miss a thing, Yuuna. Very well, I'll tell you what happened" he said, his tone ending in a disgusted note. As he recalled his story, Hinata stared blankly at the roof, and Sakura became more and more disgusted. When he'd finished, she was staring at Kosuke in utter hatred.

"You…Didn't save her, for that reason…?" she demanded quietly, her voice slow and deliberate. Kosuke held his breath, and gave a tiny nod. Suddenly Sakura was in front of him, and had punched him as hard as she could muster. Kosuke felt pain explode across his face, but, he didn't even attempt to block. It felt good for someone to punish him, to blame him, instead of saying that it wasn't his fault.

"Sakura, calm" Shino's stoic voice called, and Sakura looked at him appalled.

"You're taking his side??" she demanded, and Shino sighed,

"Let me explain" and he told her the same thing that Asa had told Kosuke. If it wasn't Hinata now, with the men off the street, it was another 10 women along with the first 15, with the men still performing these horrid deeds, steadily becoming worse in their sins. Sakura stopped, and her intelligence caught up with her, and she gave an exasperated sigh, glaring at Kosuke, but without the accusation. Kosuke merely looked down at Tsuyu's sleeping form, staying quiet.

"What else did you want, Kosuke?" Shino asked, and Kosuke sighed, looking up at him.

"For a favour. Yamato's already agreed, but, has said that I need your permission too. I and Asa being unavailable at the Mansion is a huge loss in strength, and Asa suggested that I ask you to take our place up there until Miyuki has given birth. Just during the night. During the day, I'll have the strength increased, to make up for our loss, so you can visit Hinata. But please, can you make your way back to Amaya mansion, before the sun sets" he asked, his eyes pleading with them. Shino nodded immediately, but Sakura was torn. She looked at Hinata, who was still staring at the roof. Sakura approached her zombie form, and touched her head lightly. Hinata jumped, and smiled at Sakura.

"You should go up" she said, her voice croaky. Sakura gently touched her, green emanating from her fingertips. Kosuke nearly stopped her, but she pulled away, leaving the visible bruises un-healed. She needed not to use her medic ninjutsu, and let the hospital medics care for Hinata. So they didn't suspect ninja abilities from the Konoha ninja. Hinata smiled and waved them off, before turning to Kosuke. Kosuke looked at her for a second, before turning his gaze to Tsuyu.

"You should sleep, you're probably tired. I'll probably try to sleep too, in a minute" he said, and gently brushed Tsuyu's hair back. Hinata just nodded, and settled into the bed, and Kosuke watched her fall asleep in seconds.

Kosuke went out onto the corridor, and caught the attention of a frazzled looking nurse.

"Excuse me, but why hasn't Kimi-san been healed?" he asked, and the nurse looked at him blankly, before groaning putting her hand to her head.

"I'm so sorry, Amaya-san, we're trying our best, but with 15 rape victims, and at least 2 hours for every exam, we're only able to do 3 at a time, and with no time for healings! I'm sorry, I'll get to it right away!" she said, and tried to bustle past him. He sighed, and grabbed her shoulder, and pushed her back out.

"She's asleep now. You finish the exams, and come back in the morning. You have a hectic 6 hours ahead of you, so leave the healings till the next shift; you'll be in no fit state to use your chakra later. Okay? Now, go" Kosuke said and sighed as she blushed, stammered, and hurried away.

He went back in, and settled in a chair. It was lovely and quiet. And Kosuke was very soon dozing off.

He awoke around midnight to the sound of Tsuyu calling out softly for their father. He jerked upright, and swiftly knelt down next to the sofa, touching Tsuyu's head softly.

"It's okay, little man, we're in the hospital. We're in Hinata-san's room, were its nice and quiet. You should sleep more, so you're wide awake for when Kumo arrives" he said softly, stroking Tsuyu's hair. He could just about make out Tsuyu's pale blue eyes, just like their mothers, through the dim light. He had his mother's eyes, but his father's hair and personality. His hair was a rich brown colour with gold and red streaks, like Kosuke. Tsuyu just nodded, but looked at Kosuke expectantly. Kosuke sighed, and bundled Tsuyu up close to him, sitting on the sofa. It didn't take long for Tsuyu to fall back to sleep.

Once Kosuke was sure that Tsuyu was deep asleep, he carefully shifted him onto the sofa, and stood. He walked silently to Hinata, inspected how asleep she was, and when he was satisfied she was deep asleep, he stole out the room, and ran up to His mother's room, the floor above. He could hear her shouts echoing down the hall; hear her cursing to the high heavens. Yet, when he went in, there was no sign of a baby coming out of her, the pain just contractions.

"2 Minutes, looks like they've evened out now" came Asa's tired voice. Kosuke took a deep breath, knocked, and entered. Miyuki looked round, a fire in her eyes, but it died when she saw it was Kosuke.

"What? Is Tsuyu alright? What brings you up here at this time?" she demanded, her tone irritable.

"I came to check on progress. Tsuyu is fine, I just got him back off to sleep, as he'd woken up for a time. I've left him in Hinata's room" he said, and went over to Miyuki.

"Well, good. As you can see, still no baby! I swear, if my children were born any slower, I'd be an old lady before I popped the last one out!" she said, lying back, huffing. She looked awfully tired. Tsuyu was born when Kosuke was 11, so, he didn't have much recollection of that time, as he was busy becoming a Chuunin. But, he never remembered her being this tired with Tsuyu. She seemed close to defeat.

"Kosuke, don't just stand there with that stupid look on your face! Do something useful, and get a doctor in here, so I can get this baby out!" Miyuki barked, and Kosuke jumped at her venom. He nodded, as if taking an order from a higher ranking officer, and disappeared to find the doctor.

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When Kosuke finally made it back to Hinata's room, he was wide awake, with no prospect of falling asleep again. The doctor said that she was only 3 centimetres dilated, so, there was no hope of a baby right now. That just made Miyuki angrier, so Kosuke soon fled.

He checked Hinata again, and saw she was less asleep than last time, because her eyes were moving under the lids, and her muscles kept twitching. He dreaded what she was dreaming about, but, she made no noise, so he didn't think it could be that bad. He settled himself on the chair, but found himself surprisingly tired. Maybe he could sleep for a little while longer…

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Kosuke jerked awake by the sound of a frightened gasp, and a yelp. He kept his eyes shut though, not wanting Hinata to know he was awake. Give her a bit of time to adjust before talking to her. He listened to her agonized whimpers, her sobs, and heard her shift, jump off her bed and hurry to the bathroom. He sighed, and stood, going after her, hurrying as he heard her throw up. He kneeled by her side, making as much noise as possible, and scraped her hair back, that she was futilely trying to keep out of her way. He held her hair, and rubbed her back, till she had nothing left in her stomach, and was just retching, her body wishing to reject anything. She eventually stopped, and Kosuke gave her a cloth to wipe her mouth with. He looked around for a glass, or something, and remembered the glass and jug of water on her bedside table. He jumped up, and hurried to retrieve water for her.

The water in the jug was warm, so Kosuke, who looked around worriedly, before muttering the words for his Jutsu. As he poured, the water cooled leaving it icy cold, and he hurried back to give it to Hinata. He bit his lip, wondering if anyone had seen that. But, at the moment, he failed to care.

Hinata took the glass, and drained half of it easily. She shivered, sitting with her back against the wall. She then sipped it slowly. Kosuke gulped, wondering what the hell he should do. He backed away from her to the other side of bathroom, and stared at the tiles, biting his lip. He could feel Hinata's gaze, but he just couldn't bring himself to look at her. Movement caught his eye, as he saw Hinata begin to struggle to her feet. She didn't seem to be in as much pain as yesterday when she was hobbling around, but she still grimaced as she stood. Kosuke stood too, and put a hand out to steady her. But his muscles tensed and his arm stopped short as he thought of how she'd react to that.

So he simply hovered his hand over her, until she went back to her bed. She climbed in silently, never uttering a sound. Kosuke was a bit worried, and he looked at the door, deciding he'd tell the nurse she'd been sick.

"Kosuke Amaya-san…" her weak voice called out. Kosuke's head snapped back to her, as she sat up on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor.

"Yes, Hinata-san…?" he said, unsure as to whether he was allowed to call her Hinata anymore.

"You…You…" she said, then her eyes went up to him, and he felt his insides tear themselves apart, when he looked into the eyes of, what he felt, to be the saddest girl in the world.

"You've made me feel so horrible, Kosuke. I hate it. I hate everything. I hate myself, I hate my body, and I hate men. But, I'm not a person who hates things, so, I'm tearing myself apart. I can't stand this. I want to be free of it, and I've only really been captured for 15 minutes! It's only just, sort of, hit me. You left me; it's just like that time, when I was really young. I was stolen away, he was also disgusting smelling, he also hit me to keep me quiet. But, that time, my father came bounding after me. My father! I was so happy that day, when he saved me…" she paused, glanced away, and then looked back, a small realisation in her eyes.

"You were there, weren't you? I was so sure I felt your presence…But, when you didn't show, all hope was just lost. I hate you for it. But, I hate myself too, for not being able to stand up for myself, for relying on everyone else to come and save me! I'm so weak!" she looked away, and cried silently for a while. Kosuke felt anger and self loathing in himself as she said she hated him.

"Yet, I can't get angry" she said, and her hands dropped uselessly into her lap, and she struggled to lie down. "I've never gotten real angry at anyone ever before in my life. I was trained to be obedient, and to take all sorts of crap, and I can't get angry. I really want to sit here, seething, hating you. No. I don't hate, not really. I'm not sure I hate everything. I'm almost certain I don't hate you, although, it relieves me to say it. No…" Hinata was by now, mumbling more to herself, than to Kosuke.

He slowly advanced to her, and stood about a foot away from her bed, very unsure about himself. "Kosuke, sit" she said, and patted the bed next to her. He looked at her, and realised she looked very tired, despite having slept for 6 hours already. He obeyed her, like he would a higher ranking person, and looked at her, trying to convey in his face the guilt he felt. But, it was hard for him, because displaying emotions was never something he was allowed to do. He understood Hinata when she talked about "Learned personality traits".

He jumped as he felt her hand on his arm, and she was frowning at her hand, as if confused as to why it was there. "I can touch you, I guess…" she muttered, and her face cleared, but she didn't move her hand, and was still staring at it. Kosuke lifted his free arm, and hovered his hand above her head. "May I?" he finally said quietly, and found his throat and mouth were dry, and his voice croaked out. She considered him for a moment, before nodding.

He gently touched her forehead, a light feather touch with his fingertips, and she didn't wince or flinch, so he laid his palm on her forehead checking her temperature. To his surprise she closed her eyes against his hand, sighing.

"You're nice and cold…" she said absently, and Kosuke felt his mouth quirk into a smile. She must be really tired. She was a bit warm, but he decided against opening the window. When his hand was warm, he sighed, and removed it, his hand dropping to his side.

As his hand dropped, it grazed the hilt of his sword, and reminded him of something. He jumped up, startling Hinata into awareness. "I picked something up for you" he said quietly, and turned to untie a small knife sheath attached to his belt. "here" he said shortly, and handed her back the blue knife he had given her a while back. She looked at it for a second, bewildered, and Kosuke suddenly had a fear of her harming him with it. He'd just given a very angry woman a sharp object. Not a good idea. He was about to suggest that he keep a hold of it for now, before she smiled, and unsheathed it a bit to look at the blade.

"Thank you Kosuke, I was really quite sad when I thought I'd lost it forever. Such a pretty knife" she said, and her eyes fluttered shut a second. He patted her briefly, and advised her to sleep. She nodded, and set the knife on her bedside table, before mumbling something about feeling ill. He smiled, and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

What she'd said deeply unsettled him, and only added to his guilt. When he'd found a nurse, a different one from before, but looked equally frazzled with a woman in a nightgown following her, he said briefly that Hinata had woken up and was sick. The Nurse nodded, and said that was just shock, and that she'd heal her straight away. Kosuke once again stopped her and reminded her she didn't have enough chakra, and she had more important duties.

"Plus, you have this lady to sort out, yes?" he said, looking at the woman. She didn't seem familiar.

"Well, I've just had my delightful exam, so I'm not in the least bit tired, so, take your time finding a room" the woman said, and Kosuke recognised the woman who he had spoken to in that…place. The one with the coat.

"Oh, miss, its you" he said, and smiled, "glad you're okay" she shrugged and nodded. She was obviously a labourer, who worked hard, as far as he could tell. She had short dirty blonde hair, and intense brown eyes, with a pale-ish complexion, but not as pale as Hinata. She nodded at the door to Hinata's room. "So it finally sunk in, huh? That's rough. Can she touch you?" she asked, and Kosuke was surprised by her accuracy.

"Yeah, and, she let me touch her forehead too" he said, looking back at the door. She looked impressed, "very good, she must trust you very much. I heard about that sacrifice you made, I was suspecting her to stab you or something" the woman said with cold humour. Kosuke laughed, but it didn't touch his eyes.

"I seriously suspected it when I mentioned I'd found the precious knife that she'd dropped" he said sadly, but failed to notice the woman's eyes widen.

"What, did you do with said precious knife?" she queried, looking wary. Kosuke looked at her, frowning. "I gave her it back, because I gave it to her" he said, shrugging slightly.

The woman hissed, "You fool!" she snarled, and darted past him, bursting into Hinata's room, Kosuke right behind her. Hinata, who was stood at the window, leaning right out into the night air, gave a small screech, and turned sharply, Tsuyu jerked awake, jumping to his feet, but swaying as he encountered a head rush. The woman gave a breath of relief, before marching forward and snatching up the knife.

"Dammit Amaya-san, you give a depressed woman a knife? Are you a fucking moron? What if she had tried to harm herself? Ugh!" she said, and handed Kosuke the knife.

"Ah, w-wait, I-I, w-wasn't g-going t-to do anything like that!" Hinata said, mystified by the sudden appearance of this rough looking stranger. The woman turned to Hinata, and looked at her straight in the eye.

"You don't think around 6 hours ago when you were in that building, with the Boss, that you wouldn't have considered the option?" she said sadly, looking at her. Hinata's eyes widened a fraction, and then her gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm Yuri, and I used to be the boss' favourite, so, I know what he's like. That, "It's a woman, so I should talk to her like she's an idiot" kind of attitude. After a while, that was the worst thing for me" she said, and gave out a cold short laugh. Hinata looked at her for a second, and then suddenly hugged Yuri, shivering.

Yuri smiled, and hugged Hinata closely, saying warm things to her. Yuri turned, and motioned for Kosuke and Tsuyu to disappear. So, Kosuke took Tsuyu to see their mother. On his way up, Kosuke sighed, and placed a hand on Tsuyu's head.

"I'm really getting sick of being in this hospital, y'know? It's just the ending place for everything bad that's happened to people. All those women! People who're ill, or injured. They all end up here!" he complained. Tsuyu looked up at him with pale blue eyes, and blinked.

"But, Suke-nii-san, good things happen too! Babies are born, and people are happy! People do die, and get ill, and injured, but, they always get better, and babies are born all the time, like Kumo! Hospital is a good place, but only to those who're leaving it, right?" he said, and smiled. Kosuke laughed at being denied being pessimistic by his baby brother.

But, in hospitals, things go wrong too.


I took a break from posting over the Holidays, so i'm going to post...3 Chapters, to wrap up the Tiny Miyuki arc, then get on to focusing on to the next, slightly larger arc of another girl.

So, have fun with this, and another 3 chapters.

Ilse.