Ch. 12: Is This Goodbye?
It took awhile for the scene if front of him to register. One minute a sword was coming straight at him threatening to end his life and then the next minute someone took the fatal blow for him. When his brain finally registered what happened, Naruto had an intense fear grip his very core.
Hinata had taken the blow for him.
Sasuke looked at his love, who was skewered with the very sword he held, with the same fear in his eyes that Naruto had. Red liquid trickled down the iron sword. Sasuke mouth was agape. Hinata looked up at Sasuke with a sweet smile on her face; blood stained the sides of her mouth. The sword was still plunged into her. Hinata slowly turned her head to face Naruto. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun…cough…I'm okay…cough." Hinata choked out between blood filled coughs. She smiled weakly as the color began to fade from her face and her eyes began losing the life spark that was always in them. Naruto felt complete and utter rage, and only through his desire of not wanting Hinata seem him go Kyuubi again, did he manage to control the burning desire to use its power to annihilate the Uchiha.
All around the battlefield stunned faces could be seen. The humans felt as though someone was playing a cruel joke on them by having their beloved princess be one of the losses of the war. The Animas were utterly shocked as to why a human girl sacrificed herself for an Anima when she is supposed to hate them. Hiashi looked at his daughter with urgency. She is dying…she can't die. Not like this! Hiashi thought as instinct took over him. "Sasuke, get the sword out of her. Lee go get Sakura. Neji go get a horse so we can bring Hinata back to the village, and tell the men to go home to tell everyone to clear the way, so we can get Hinata to the compound faster." Hiashi commanded.
"Hai." Lee and Neji saluted as they ran off to do their respective missions. Hiashi looked at Sasuke, whose body was in complete shock at what he had just done; he still had not pulled the sword out of Hinata yet.
"SASUKE, PULL THE DAMN SWORD OUT OF HINATA NOW!" Hiashi yelled with anger and fear mixed with his words. Sasuke was jerked back into reality and gently pulled the sword out of his beloved's abdomen. Hinata swayed before falling backwards into Naruto's awaiting arms. Naruto cradled her gently and pushed some stray strands of Hinata's practically violet hair out of her deathly pale face. What scared Naruto the most was how cold Hinata's body felt, however, she was still breathing. Hinata opened her eyes to see Naruto's face staring at her with such worry and fear that she felt horrible that he had to go through this pain. She smiled as best as she could to calm Naruto down. He smiled back at her.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan, I won't let you die." He whispered to her. Hinata nodded slowly as her eyes began to slowly close. She tried to soak in as much of Naruto as possible because she was not sure she would be opening her eyes ever again. The second Hinata's eyes closed, Naruto looked up to find Tsunade. "Baa-chan, you have to help her! Baa-chan, please save Hinata-chan!" Naruto begged on the verge of tears. Tsunade took Hinata out of Naruto's arms and laid her on the ground to do her healing. Tsunade's hands glowed green with healing power as she began to methodically work.
This is not good, her lungs are almost completely filled with blood…I'll need to drain that blood out of her and mend the veins around there. Good news is that her heart is unharmed, so I have a little more time, but not much. Tsunade thought as she assessed Hinata's condition to decide where she should begin to heal her. Everyone was distracted with Hinata that Orochimaru decided it was the perfect time to make his escape, so he did. Jiraiya was easily pushed aside due to be distracted by his distressed godson. Orochimaru slithered into the forest to find a new hiding spot, and to form a new plan.
Jiraiya attempted to go after Orochimaru, but found that the sneaky snake had paralyzed his legs with his venom, and by the time that wore off, Orochimaru would be long gone. Jiraiya snarled in frustration before turning to watch Tsunade treat the dying Hyuga princess.
Tsunade's brow was brimming with sweat from so much exertion of her power. She was almost at her limit, and her body screamed for her to stop. She would not obey. She fought through the fatigue. She slowly stood up with her bloody hands, and turned to face the concerned face of Naruto and Hiashi. "I did as much as I could do without any equipment. I stopped most of the bleeding, but there is still a lot of damage. I can't heal her all by myself." Tsunade said with a professional doctor tone.
"I have no idea what is taking Neji and Lee so long, but we will take her to the Hyuga compound now. Sakura, our best medic, will be able to assist you in saving my daughter, and thank-you." Hiashi said. Tsunade nodded as she began to head for the human town with Shikamaru, Gaara, Choji, and Jiraiya following her. Hiashi led them to the Hyuga Manor as Naruto held Hinata in his arms; Sasuke was still in shock, but his body seemed to be able to move on its own.
Watching the group head towards the human village were Temari and Ino who were waiting for the perfect moment to join in on the war, but stopped when they saw Naruto go Kyuubi. They saw the whole thing with Hinata and they knew exactly what they needed to do.
"Temari, we should meet them at Hinata's house." Ino suggested as she began walking towards the direction of Konoha.
"We don't know where she lives, remember?" Temari answered as she followed Ino. Ino thought for a moment before spinning around to face Temari.
"They kept call her Hinata-hime, so she must live in the biggest house in the town."
"Well that makes sense…alright let's go!" Temari yelled as they sprinted as fast as the wind thanks to Temari's power over wind.
Hyuga Compound
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Tenten yelled as she clutched onto the side of the bed in utter agony. Sakura was frantically running around the room getting ready for the new life that was about to enter their world. "THIS HURTS! WHEN I SEE NEJI I AM NEVER GOING TO LET HIM TOUCH ME AGAIN!" Tenten yelled which made Sakura chuckle.
"Well it's your fault too. It takes two to tango, but I guess in this case it takes two to…" Sakura began to reply suggestively but was interrupted by another blood curdling scream from Tenten. "Why did you have to worry yourself into an early pregnancy? Only you would have a baby in the middle of a battle!" Sakura whined as she sat at the end of the bed. Waiting to help the baby out when the time comes. Just as she sat down, Neji and Lee came bursting into the room.
"I heard Tenten scream! What's wrong with her?" Neji asked very concerned for his wife. Sakura had a smile on her face before answering.
"She is having your child, Silly." Sakura replied before returning her attention to Tenten.
"WHAT!?!? But she isn't due for another month!" Neji cried out in shock. His wife was having a baby while he was off to war!
"WELL TELL THE BABY THAT!" Tenten yelled as another contraction happened. Neji rushed to her side and took her hand. Bad move. Tenten squeezed his hand so tight that he lost all circulation to it.
"OM MY, WOMAN, YOU GOT ONE HELL OF A GRIP!" Neji yelled out in pain. Lee chuckled before remembering why he came back home.
"Sakura-chan, Hinata-hime is in critical condition! You need to come save her!" Lee yelled. Sakura looked at her husband with a pale and frightened face. "It is a long story I'll tell you later."
"I can't leave Tenten." Sakura answered. She was completely right with her statement, but just as Lee was going to say something a burst of wind came in through the window there stood two female Animas, one a white weasel and the other a pig.
"Ino and Temari at your service." Ino declared loudly to Sakura. Sakura was completely relieved when she saw them.
"You go help Hinata! Ino and I will take care of Tenten. We have done this so many times before, right Ino?" Temari said. Ino nodded and Sakura hugged them both giving them her thanks. The pink haired medic ran towards the compound's gate with her green clad fiancé trailing behind her. Sakura was praying she was not too late.
"Sakura!" Hiashi yelled when he saw her run towards them. "Go get your equipment now!" Sakura nodded her head as she headed back to the compound to get a room set up with her equipment in it. Just as she finished setting up, Naruto walked in with Hinata in his arms. He gingerly placed her on the bed just as Tsunade came in the newly made operating room. Naruto was ushered out by the two medics, so they could start with the surgery. Naruto sat in the hallway right outside the door praying that Hinata would make it out of this alive. He would not be able to bear it if she died protecting him. His eyes were brimming with tears as he berated himself for letting something like this happen to her. Why would she do something like that? She should have known she would get killed! Hinata…Hinata please be okay. If someone has to die please take me instead and let Hinata live…please Hinata live. Naruto thought as he hung his head in grief.
Hiashi came into the hallway to see a hurting Naruto sitting across from the door where Hinata was being operated on. Due to his daughter and new respect for the fox Anima who tried to suppress the Kyuubi's power, Hiashi had come to accept the boy and Animas in general. He is finally able to see the good Hinata saw in them, and he is also finally able to see why his daughter loves this Anima. The Hyuga Leader realized that what mattered most aside from Hinata's survival was her happiness. The father walked over to the Anima and leaned against the wall next to him. Naruto did not bother to look up since he was too wrapped up in his thoughts about Hinata. Hiashi looked at the door as he began to converse with Naruto. "Your name is Naruto, right?" Naruto looked up with dead eyes and nodded then hung his head again. "I guess I should be thanking you. You saved my daughter today, so thank-you."
"She is dying because of me…I did not save her." Naruto replied with sadness, anger and frustration in his tone. Hiashi shook his head no.
"She made it this far because of you. You saved her from that snake Anima's poison and you have saved her countless times before today." Hiashi defended his point. Naruto looked at him with confusion. Hiashi smiled slightly before continuing. "About fifteen years ago Hinata's mother died giving birth to Hanabi. Hinata was very sad and heartbroken; she was acting like herself. She was so reserved and quiet. Of course I did nothing to help her; I took out my hurt out on her. Hinata reminds me so much of her mother, and that triggered such sadness in me that I began to anger very easily with Hinata. I was horrible to her, and I truly regret that. One day Hinata came back from a picnic with her friends very happy. It was strange, but when she was happy the whole town seemed to be happy along with her. Ever since that day she would disappear from time to time saying she was in the forest. I did not truly did not understand why the sudden change in her, but it caused me to change too. I started to value her more, and shower her with the love I neglected to give her for those five years. I guess that's what made Hanabi resent her sister, since I was giving Hinata most of my love. Anyway do you know what she was doing in the forest that made her so happy?" Naruto shook his head. "She met you." Naruto's jaw dropped in shock. "You saved her from her despair and indirectly you saved me and the whole village from that despair as well. That is how you saved Hinata, and I guess I owe you an apology for being so ignorant."
"Thank-you, Hiashi-sama." Naruto said weakly but genuinely. Hiashi turned to leave saying he had to apologize to Hanabi and see if he could get her to not resent her sister for something he did. Naruto watched him leave before turning his attention to the door. Hinata…
Delivery Room
"OW! TENTEN, MY HAND! WOMAN, YOU ARE GOING TO SHATTER THE BONES!" Neji wailed in pain. Temari and Ino were running around the room trying to get Tenten comfortable while Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, and Gaara watched poor Neji loose his right hand. The guys felt out of place in the delivery room; they had tried sitting with Naruto to wait for Hinata, but they could tell that the guy needed to be alone. Who could blame him? Now they were stuck watching Tenten give birth as Temari and Ino delivered it.
"I am going to say this one time, I am so glad I am not a woman." Choji said. All the guys nodded as their eyes focused in on Tenten pained face.
"Oh I see a head! Push, Tenten! Push!" Ino exclaimed in excitement as she went to guide the baby out of its mother's womb. Temari threw some warm cloths at Ino for the baby when it came out.
"Deep breaths. In…out…in…out. There you go. No short breaths he...ho…he…ho. Good." Temari instructed Tenten. As she did her breathing exercises, Tenten hold on Neji's poor hand loosened, mush to his delight. He could now feel his blood circulating into his hand.
"Ah! Your baby is almost out! One more big push should do the trick!" Ino declared. Tenten pushed as hard as she could. Then the sound that everyone was waiting for came. Her baby began crying. She smiled as she sat back and looked up at her husband with a small smile on her face. Ino began to clean the baby with Temari's help and then brought the baby to Tenten to hold. "It's a boy." Neji looked down at his son proudly. The baby boy had stopped crying and opened his eyes curiously. He looked just like Neji. Neji could not believe how amazing his son looked. For being born a month early, he was pretty big.
"Sorry about your hand, Dear." Tenten apologized for her immense strength that most likely broke Neji's hand. Neji smiled sweetly signifying that he has forgiven her. Tenten looked around the room soaking in the fact that she was probably the first human to have had Animas deliver her baby. She smiled at the thought. She scanned the room and realized Hinata was not there. "Neji, where is Hinata-sama? I figured she would be in here by now." Everyone in the room eyes became downcast. Tenten grew worried.
"She is at death's door." Neji replied.
Hallway
Hours ticked on by as Naruto sat waiting for the door to the operating room to open. Those hours were the definition of hell for Naruto. He was in complete torture. After Hiashi had left, Lee, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Choji came to wait for Hinata, but they left after realizing Naruto needed to be alone. Jiraiya came two hours after that saying that human women were gorgeous beyond belief, and that they would be perfect for his next book. The toad Anima tried cheering him up, and it worked to some extent. Naruto was not as depressed as he was before, but he needed his space and Jiraiya left him to do some more research. After five hours of waiting the operating room door slowly opened revealing Sakura and Tsunade. Their clothes were cover with blood along with their hands. Their faces showed how tired and drained they were, but all those things were not what worried Naruto. No, what worried Naruto was the utter loss of hope in their eyes.
"Naruto, we did everything we could but…" Sakura began but trailed off as tears rolled down her face. Tsunade put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"But there is nothing we can do for her." Tsunade finished sadly. Naruto's world came crashing in on him. He clenched his fists as tears ran down his face. "If you want you can go see her…she does not have much time left in this world." Naruto bolted into the room. The beautiful Hyuga princess lay motionless on the bed. She looked very peaceful as she laid there on the blood stained white sheets. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was very shallow. Naruto could see Hinata's life ebbing away, and it frightened him. He grabbed her hand as he pulled up a chair next to the bed.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked very weakly. Naruto looked at her with eyes filled with love for he did not want her to see the immense pain he was in.
"Hinata-chan, why? Why did you take the blow for me? It should be me laying here not you." He said trying to control his voice as it was cracking from fighting back sobs. Hinata smiled faintly as she moved the hand he was not holding to his face. She traced his whiskers and then caressed his cheek.
"Because I love you, Naruto-kun." Hinata answered. Her hand dropped from his face and the hand Naruto was holding went limp. She slowly closed her eyes. Her life had mere seconds left to spare.
"HINATA-CHAN! HINATA-CHAN, DON'T LEAVE ME! HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto cried in desperation. His raw emotions caused instinct to take over. His body slowly gave into the power of the Kyuubi. "HINATA-CHAN, I WON'T LET THIS BE GOODBYE!"
Naruto had reached six tails.
Me: Whoa...*stunned*
Sakura: Did not know you had it in you...*stunned*
Me: No...I can't believe I made this chapter so dramatic...
Hinata: Oh my gosh...*stunned*
Naruto: LEXAR DON'T KILL HINATA! I AM A NARUHINA FAN!
Hanabi: Since Lexar, Hinata, and Sakura are too stunned about this chapter and Naruto is spazzing about Hinata's death, I will be leading the question segment! Alright first up is my question. Will I stop resenting my sister?
Sasuke: How am I coping with being the one responsible for Hinata's death?
Tenten: What will Neji and I name our son?
Kyuubi: How is Naruto going to save Hinata?
Hanabi: Find out next chapter! Oh and Lexar wants some feedback on Hiashi's speech to Naruto! Okay that's pretty much it so please review!
