Authoress: Okay, first I would like to apologize to everyone for last chapter…I was in such a rush to get a new chapter out, after that insanely long wait, that I did not even realize that I had not put in any parts with Naruto!!! //cries// So, to make up for it, I will ignore the rest of my ongoing stories for a while and write a whole chapter about our favorite blonde!!!
Disclaimer: If only…
Chapter Eleven
Naruto took a deep breath as he stretched back, raising his arms up over his head while tilting his head back to stare up at the sky. For once, it was overcast. Despite what everyone inferred from his façade, Naruto did not prefer those almost impossibly sunny days. He would much rather sit under the partial covering of a tree while it rained. A downpour during a cool afternoon was, by far, much better than a picture-perfect day. Naruto enjoyed the feel of the damp ground beneath him, the sound of the water droplets hitting the grass, but most of all, Naruto loved the smell that filled his nose during such times. The scent of the wet grass and mud and the aroma of fresh water surrounding him gave Naruto the feeling of cleansing and revival – no matter how dirty, tired, and otherwise horrid he felt, all it took was a good storm to wash all of that away. Naruto felt the barest of smirks come to his face as he decided that, if he had a choice, he would prefer to die in the midst of a rainstorm.
Could you be any more depressing? The Kyuubi asked with annoyance. Naruto chuckled as he closed his eyes and imagined the large kitsune laying down in her cage, her large head resting on crossed arms. Though she never made any mention of his usual depressing mindset, she hated whenever his thoughts turned towards his own demise. Naruto always passed it up to the fact that, with his death, she probably would die too. He never worked up the courage to ask her what would happen to her when he died – would her spirit leave his body, dying if she was not bound to someone else or would she still exist in this world, haunting Konohagure in a spirit form or could she recreate a body or possess another one? A part of Naruto hoped that she would die when he did – that way, he wouldn't have to go alone.
Probably, Naruto replied with a smirk. Without another thought, the teen sat down at the demon's side, curling up in her soft, warm fur. Resting his head against her side, Naruto let out a sigh. Do you think I should tell Iruka about Ero-sennin?
That Jiraiya is your grandfather?The Kyuubi clarified as she tilted her head in thought. Though the knowledge of the Sannin's relationship to Naruto came as a bit of a surprise, she could only look back now and see how much sense it made. She had always thought her container and the man had a great deal in common, both in personality and features. Sometimes, when the blonde was not paying attention, she caught the man's expression and could not help but see the similarities in Naruto's face.
I don't want Iruka to think that he's less important to me. Naruto did not have to state that he saw the brunet as family, despite the fact they shared no blood. The Kyuubi nodded her head, understanding that Naruto's relationship with the chuunin was somewhere between father and son and brothers. She would not want to change that closeness between the two for anything. Sometimes she wondered how Naruto would have turned out if Iruka had not been there for him since infancy. Would he have been able to cope with the hatred of the village without the knowledge that at least one person cared for him? Would he have survived to his teen years without someone to make sure he ate, showered, and bandaged his wounds, both emotional and physical? Would he have been able to see good in people if it had not been for the kind man? The Kyuubi let up a silent prayer of thanks for the chuunin. She had a feeling that, without Iruka, Naruto would have been the cold-blooded monster people were afraid he would turn out to be. He probably would have been on the same level as Orochimaru. She knew that not even Gaara's mentality could compare to the evil that would have lived inside Naruto if Iruka had not taken care of him. Even the redhead had family that cared for him.
Tell him that it doesn't change anything between you two, the Kyuubi suggested as she observed her container. She made sure to hide her thoughts as she let her gaze travel down the teen. In the past few weeks, she had seen a change in the blonde. His mentality had changed slightly, brightening ever so little, as he renewed his relationship with Kiba and found out about his grandfather. At the same time, however, she saw the almost unperceivable changes in his features. He was losing weight, whether or not he himself noticed it yet. The weight was not the childish tubbiness that he used to have because of Iruka's good cooking. Now, it was the muscle that he had trained so hard for the past three years to attain. His face was slowly becoming strained because of the lack of sleep, along with the stress he was unaware of. She did not have the heart to tell him that his body could not keep up with him anymore. Taking a shaky breath that her container didn't catch, she thought back to those years when he used to sleep over half the day away. Back then, she thought he slept too much, but now she would give anything to have that problem back. By her calculations, Naruto had only slept six or seven hours in the past week.
Letting her eyes rest on the blonde's hands, the Kyuubi let out a sigh. Naruto was slowly rubbing his hands together, warming his cold fingers ever so slightly. The air around them was not colder than usual; if anything it was a little warmer than she was accustomed to. She also knew that his movements were almost unconscious, which scared her all the more. Naruto did not realize how his body was beginning to fail, despite all of the warning signs. The Kyuubi did not need a medical background to know that the boy's circulation was starting to feel the effects of his failing heart. Already, Naruto was starting to become sensitive to the smallest changes in the temperature, his limbs were slowly becoming tinted with alarming shades of purple, and feeling in his hands and feet was decreasing at a rapid pace.
What's wrong? Naruto asked as he glanced over at the Kyuubi. She was being unusually quiet, which made him immediately suspicious. He had been noticing her observing him more and more of late, but he had always passed it up to her starting to realize he was growing up. That look of sadness in her eyes, however, destroyed that line of thought.
Nothing, kit,she lied as she wrapped one tail around his cold body, hoping to keep him warmer. If she could keep him from realizing how much he was changing, perhaps it would be enough to save him. The knowledge of his impending death would certainly strain his heart all the more and the Kyuubi knew that with each minute he stayed alive, the closer his grandmother got to discovering a way to save him. The Kyuubi did not have to see Tsunade to know that she was doing everything in her power to find a way to give the blonde a second chance at life. All the Kyuubi could do now was hope that the Hokage could find a way when not even the Nine Tailed Demon could.
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"Naruto!" The blonde nearly jumped when he heard his teammate's high-pitched voice next to him. He had somehow not even realized Sakura was anywhere nearby, let alone right beside him. Turning to look at the pink haired girl, he raised an eyebrow at her broad smile. It was not very often her smiles meant good news for him.
"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied with faked happiness. He could not even begin to imagine what the annoying girl could possibly want, unless it was to aggravate him, which she was amazingly good at.
"Do you have anything planned today?" she asked with a sickeningly sweet tone, her eyes giving Naruto a pouting look. He inwardly twitched as he thought of possible reasons she would ask him such a thing. Before he even got a chance to respond, she continued, "I am doing a project with Tsunade-sama and I need a…subject…"
"Subject?" Naruto repeated hesitantly, his mind racing with frightening possibilities. Between Sakura and Tsunade, he could only imagine what they would need a 'subject' for. For some reason, he kept imagining a dark, dingy room with a table of pointy objects in the basement of the Hokage Tower where the walls were sound-proof.
"Hai…I'm studying the circulatory system and I was curious to see if your body works differently than everyone else's," Sakura lied flawlessly as she gave Naruto another smile. Tsunade had said to use any means necessary to perform a few simple tests on the teen. The most important tests were ones to determine how Naruto's body was being affected by his failing heart, along with ones to see if they could figure out what kind of defect was threatening his life. Any information on Naruto's condition would help them think of a way to save him.
"What would you have to do?" Naruto asked as he eyed his teammate suspiciously. He still had the image of pointy, unnamed objects in his head. Despite his better judgment, however, he already sentenced himself to a day under Sakura's scrutiny. For all of her annoying characteristics, he knew that she did care about him in her own way and, because of that, he would help her if he could.
"Nothing painful," Sakura said with a snort. She knew how Naruto's imagination sometimes ran away with him and she could only guess what he had already thought up of in order to give her such a look.
"No dungeons?" Naruto questioned, receiving a confused look from the pink haired girl. Satisfied that his teammate wasn't planning on torturing him, Naruto nodded his head. "You owe me ramen" was the only other thing Naruto stated as he followed Sakura down the street.
"No more than ten bowls," Sakura retorted good-naturedly, knowing that her teammate needed a limit or else he would clean her wallet out. Naruto huffed at the unfairness of her response, but knew better than to argue with Sakura when they were in such confined spaces. Since coming back to the village, he had felt her newfound strength more than once when sparring with her.
"Jeez, even Kiba pays for my whole dinner," Naruto replied with a pout. For a moment, the blonde recalled his evening with Kiba and couldn't help but wonder where the Inuzuka had run off to. Since then, he hadn't seen much of Kiba, which made him wonder if Kiba had rethought their relationship, if it could be called that. "Have you seen Kiba?"
"You didn't hear?" Sakura asked as she froze, turning to look at her teammate curiously. From the blank look she received, she knew Naruto did not hear to the village's newest bit of gossip. The most popular explanation was that Kiba was going to Suna not just as a diplomat, but also as a certain redhead's lover. Sakura had to bite back a laugh at the ridiculous idea of Kiba and Gaara being a couple. The only person she could ever imagine the quiet Kazekage with was Neji simply because the Hyuuga was the only person who had the courage and stubbornness to deal with Gaara. Looking over at Naruto, she smiled. Much like Neji and Gaara, she could easily see how Naruto and Kiba's personalities would compliment one another. "He was sent to Suna as a diplomat for the next few months. He left yesterday without saying goodbye to anyone. Gaara was in a mood and wanted to leave immediately."
Naruto chuckled as he nodded his head. He could see Gaara as an impatient person and how everyone would bend over backwards to accommodate the redhead Kazekage. For Kiba to leave without telling anyone – not even his family – must have meant Gaara was itching to get out of Konohagure. It probably had something to do with his brother's elopement. Naruto couldn't help but recall when he saw Hinata and Kankuro together. If he ever got the chance to have that kind of closeness, he certainly wouldn't let anyone get between him and that person.
"I'm sure he would have told you if he had time," Sakura added, ignoring Tsunade's demand that she not talk about Kiba or give Naruto the hope that they could ever have a relationship. She gave Naruto a knowing smirk that, to her surprise, made his tan cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "Ooh, I hit a nerve!" she squealed as she broke out into a smile.
Naruto felt his face warm up even more as he glanced over at Sakura. He studied her face, but found no malice in her expression, which surprised him. Usually people made fun of him to hurt him, but from the good humor in her eyes, Sakura meant no harm by her words. If anything, she was treating him just like she did other friends. That realization brought the slightest of smiles to his face. When they were first placed in a genin team together, those jabs and jokes were meant to hurt, but something changed her opinion of him enough for her to stop her hurtful mocking. Could three years without his constant presence really have changed her that much? "Did not," Naruto finally retorted as he stuck his nose up in the air with a pout, playing along with Sakura's game. She nudged him with her shoulder, gently enough that her insane strength only knocked him off balance and didn't throw him into a nearby building. Falling on his rear, Naruto glared up at his teammate until she reached down to help him back up as she apologized, but that smile remained on her lips.
Making sure to grab his wrist, Sakura pulled Naruto back up, mentally recording his pulse for future reference. She hated using sneaky methods to follow Tsunade's orders, but she did not want to reveal to Naruto that she was curious about how thoughts of Kiba affected him. If she could not see any changes in him when Naruto thought about Kiba, then she would tell Tsunade that sending Kiba away was unfair and he should be brought back. Even having read the letter Naruto's mother had written, Sakura couldn't see the point in sending Kiba to Suna. If anything, Sakura thought that Kiba's presence might help Naruto – Kiba could keep a close watch on the blonde so he could warn Tsunade if anything in Naruto's condition changed. He could keep Naruto happy while the Hokage searched for a way to save her grandson. The only reason Sakura could think that Kiba's presence in Konoha may speed up Naruto's heart failure would be if the two were intimate, which would certainly put a strain on Naruto's heart. The thought of Naruto and Kiba together made Sakura freeze mid-step as she turned to look at her teammate in a new light. Was it possible the two were already lovers? From the faint blush that still remained on Naruto's cheeks, she could tell he had feelings for the Inuzuka, but how far did those feelings go? "So, have you two…?" Sakura trailed off purposely as she gave Naruto a lecherous glance.
"No!" Naruto quickly replied, unable to meet the girl's gaze as he blushed with full force. The mere thought of being with Kiba gave Naruto all kinds of images that got the pervert in him to squeal with glee. The thought of Kiba without a stitch of clothing on was more than enough to send tremors down Naruto's body. He could clearly picture those well-defined muscles, which he had clearly seen underneath Kiba's sweat-soaked clothes that left nothing to the imagination. His body, by Naruto's imagination, was perfection. His broad shoulders and strong arms would be perfectly matched with a chest, back, and abdomen that would make a god envious. Naruto could easily picture Kiba's narrow hips, chiseled thighs, and a behind that could only be described as magnificent. His skin would be lightly tanned from years of being outdoors, but he would have only faint tan lines, since Naruto could easily imagine Kiba as laying out under the sun nude. His animal-like features would only make him more desirable – his narrow eyes would be filled with that primal desire Naruto had seen only once, his fangs revealed in a feral smirk, and his long claw-like nails reaching out to trail their way down Naruto. Shivering slightly as he imagined the deep, possessive sound that would come from Kiba's throat as he silently moved closer, Naruto forgot momentarily where he was and who he was with.
"Woah…" Sakura could not help but stare at Naruto with wide eyes as she tried imagining what he could possibly be thinking about to get such a delicious reaction out of him. She always thought Kiba was good looking, but apparently he was hiding something underneath his baggy, ragged clothes that only Naruto was aware of.
Hearing Sakura's voice, Naruto was shaken from his fantasy and, glancing around at the crowded streets, he flushed in embarrassment. Coughing nervously, he hoped no one could see how much his imagination had affected his lower body. From the perverted snicker he heard from his teammate, she certainly noticed – then again, perverts seemed to have an uncanny sense for this kind of thing. Somehow Jiraiya always knew whenever a lecherous thought went through Naruto's mind.
"So where did you want to do your tests?" Naruto asked in attempts to end the uncomfortable silence. Sakura, laughing in a way only a pervert can, gestured for Naruto to keep walking as she continued to observe her teammate with quick glances that she could only hope he did not notice and, if he did, that he did not know the kind of danger he was in or how little time he had left.
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Tsunade sat back in her chair, rubbing between her eyes in attempts to stave off the headache she always received after reading the finance reports. Since having given Sakura the duty to find out as much as possible about her grandson's condition, Tsunade had tried to tend to her duties as Hokage, but could not help but keep finding herself wondering how Sakura's attempts were going or what she discovered. Taking a deep breath, the Hokage instantly felt a change in the atmosphere. Recognizing her student's chakra, she leaned forwards as she propped her elbows up on the desk, awaiting the news Sakura would surely be bringing.
As the pink-haired kunoichi entered the office, Tsunade felt her hope fade. The few sheets of paper in her student's shaking hands did not look promising, but what truly stopped the Hokage's heart was the despair in Sakura's eyes as the young girl looked at her. Sympathy was clearly written across the girl's face, but she still somehow found the ability to speak as she walked further into the office.
"I'm so sorry, Tsunade-sama," Sakura whispered as she flopped down in the chair across from the blonde woman with exhaustion and despondence no one her age should ever feel.
"How long?" was the only question Tsunade could choke out as she watched her student through watery eyes. Sakura gave her a look that told Tsunade what she had feared since learning of her grandson's heart defect.
"He won't last the four months Iruka-sensei gave us…"
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Authoress: okay…I'll admit this chapter was short, but this was supposed to just make up for not mentioning Naruto at all last chapter…so I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter (and that you guys don't hate me too much for finally saying how much longer Naruto has left)…so, anyways, I want to thank everyone for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!!!! Until next time, ja ne!!
