Aftershock

Chapter Fifteen

-Devastation-

Natsumi shut the heavy hospital door behind her. She had just finished working on a patient who had been poisoned by his daughter on accident. She had gotten into their ninja cabinet and thought it was something used for cooking. The woman sighed, children were so stupid sometimes. But luckily it was an easy fix. She stopped and picked up her clipboard from a nearby receptionist's desk. She had her white lab coat on with her initials over her left breast pocket. The pink haired medic looked over her schedule and stuck her hand in her coat pocket. There weren't too many patients to see today. The village had been pretty quiet for a while and most of the shinobi came back safely from their missions.

"Natsumi-sama," someone called from behind her. "We have a girl in the burn unit and Satomi-sama is busy. Could you come and help?" a nurse jogged up. She didn't look too worried, so it probably wasn't too bad.

"Sure thing." She smiled, following the nurse. Suddenly she came to a halt, her eyes wide with terror. Something bad had happened. It was her premonition coming true, she looked around worriedly. Akito hadn't returned had he? She shut her eyes tightly, blocking out the calling nurse. She tried to feel for her brother and when she picked up nothing her heart stopped. "No." she breathed out, ripping her coat off and throwing it at the nurse. "I have to go!" she yelled, tears were already forming in her eyes as she ran down the hallway.

Satomi burst out from a corridor and locked eyes with her sister. "What's wrong?" she demanded, having sensed her sister's dismay. She pulled off her white coat as well and threw it to the side.

Sand swirled around Natsumi, forming her gourd on her back. "Something terrible." She shut her eyes tightly and grabbed her sister's hand. They were gone before they even reached the end of the hall.

Gaara leaned back in his chair, looking out into the street. Sakura had decided it would be a good idea to have lunch with Naruto and Hinata. They sat in an outside café, having 'simple' conversation. He hated simple conversations with anyone besides his beautiful wife. The redhead tensed instantly. He grabbed Sakura's hand and stood, silencing the annoying blonde.

"Something is very wrong." He informed them. "Natsumi has been seriously disturbed." He pulled Sakura up with him and let his sand take him away to where he sensed his daughters.

Having watched their friends disappear, Naruto stood as well as Hinata. He picked her up instantly and flashed stepped towards the gates of the village. He could feel his daughter's presence there, and for some reason he felt that something was wrong with her.

Natsumi and Satomi appeared in front of the gates. The younger twin ran forward and searched around for anything. A bit off, the sand became denser, forming Yuki, Minako, Akito, and Toshiro. "There!" she pointed towards the group and took off ahead of her sister. She was beside them in an instant, her face going stark white with trepidation. "TOSHIRO!" she screamed, shoving them all aside and grabbing her brother tightly. "Toshiro!" she sobbed out with a terrible cry. Tears were streaming down her face now as Satomi came up, going wide eyed. She didn't even move, for the first time there was a definite emotion on her face. Fear.

The older twin kneeled down by her sister, placing Toshiro's head in her lap and caressing his face gently. Natsumi only grew worse, she was hyperventilating now. Someone had killed her brother! She leaned over him, trying to see if there was any way to save him. She felt someone's hand on her shoulder and immediately her sand was up in defense forcing Minako, Akito, and Yuki further away. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" she shrieked, curling over her brother protectively.

Her eyes scanned all of them, finally focusing on Akito. He looked wounded and torn, and then she noticed the bloody hand print on his face. She searched him and then glanced down at her brother's wounds, placing two and two together. Her eyes widened, the psychotic look on her face even worse than before. Her premonition and his weird behavior before he left now made sense. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Natsumi screeched, pushing off from the ground and lunging at Akito.

Strong arms looped around Natsumi's waist and held her back. Akito was just barely out of her reach, her hand stretched out to try and get him and her sand strained out slowly, close to her hand and appearing more like a claw. "Natsumi." Gaara said flatly, keeping his grip on her, focusing all his power on suppressing her sand. It was going crazy and there was only a look of rage on her face.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, choking on her sobs. "I HATE YOU AKITO! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" But she obviously didn't want an answer. She was completely broken. Everything in her body was numb. Her heart was so broken she didn't think she'd ever even find it again. The only man she had ever loved had killed her only brother.

Pain so strong he couldn't even describe shot through Akito's chest then. He had never thought that Natsumi would ever say that to him. And it hurt. Suddenly Toshiro's words made sense. It was Natsumi, not Minako, who would never forgive him. In that instant he realized that he had singlehandedly ruined his life.

Sakura was next to her oldest daughter, aiding in the healing that needed to be done before they could move Toshiro. They needed to strengthen his heartbeat just a little bit.

Shuhei appeared next to the group then, having sensed his sister nearby. He had been talking to one of the Anbu guards about Suna's defense. He just didn't understand the point of an inner and an outer wall. Why not just have one big one the way they did back home? But when he saw the scene before him, he was shocked.

"Mina!" he yelled, running over to where his sister was and steadying her. She looked weak, and there was a ghastly cut on her left hand. Naruto and Hinata appeared then. Hinata gasped and buried her head in her husband's robes. She couldn't bear to see death, especially accompanied by so much pain.

"Shiro-kun's still alive. Please save him." Minako said, teary cerulean eyes trained on her fiancé.

"We need to get him to the hospital now. He must be stabilized." Sakura said, tone completely serious. She didn't know what to feel about her baby being in such a condition, but she knew that she had to keep her head or she would increase her chances of losing him. And she would not lose another son. "Natsumi, if you do not calm down I will not allow you in the operating room to help with your brother. Gaara, can you transport us?" she asked, meaning herself, Satomi, Natsumi, and Toshiro. They were the only ones who could save him now.

He nodded, still holding onto his daughter who's hateful, tear filled glare never left Akito. The sand around the five condensed and suddenly they were all gone, leaving the others out in the desert.

Naruto picked up Hinata again and flash stepped towards the hospital. Minako stood shakily and did the same with her brother. Akito just disappeared, deciding that he wouldn't be welcomed at the hospital in the first place.

Yuki stared at the spot her family had been. She had been left behind and left out. Her brother's condition was her fault and she couldn't do anything to help, since she hadn't quite gotten a grasp on healing jutsu.

"Satomi, go find Minako and see if she has any of that balm. It will help him heal while I try and regulate his breathing and steady his heartbeat." Sakura ordered without looking up from her son.

"No." Satomi said, defying her mother. She would not leave her brother's side until he was better. Gaara stood with his arms crossed over his chest. He watched the process with a worried expression. His only son was about to die. He pressed his lips hard together and shut his eyes tightly. No, Sakura and his daughters would save him. They were the best healers, Toshiro just had to live.

Natsumi stood at her brother's head, all ten fingers pressed against his skull. She was keeping his brain activity active. If he slipped into a coma it might all be over. She felt her tears again, dripping down and hitting her brother's unconscious face. "Please Toshiro," she sobbed, "please don't leave us."

Satomi placed her hands over her brother's rib, letting her mother handle his shoulder. Slowly his ribs formed back solidly and he began to breathe more regularly. The pain and shattered bones must have constricted his lungs.

"Gaara, please get the ointment. We can't heal everything. His body must heal some of it on its own." Sakura said, a worried crease between her eyebrows. The damage to his shoulder was severe. She knew that it must have been lightning that damaged it, but it was unlike any lightning jutsu she'd ever seen Sasuke do. And she knew what lightning wounds inflicted by him looked like, that was for sure.

"Mom. Why don't you have faith in your son?" Satomi glared. She hated getting help from anyone outside her family. "Natsumi, just pour some of your chakra into him and let his body heal." She ordered. Natsumi nodded and shut her eyes, stopping her tears for a moment and letting her large chakra reserves empty into her brother.

The older redhead stepped forward and looked over his son, his body twitched and Toshiro's eyes flashed open with a loud gasp. "Oh God!" he yelled, wincing in pain. He looked over at his shoulder and then at his family, who was leaning over him. He took a deep breath and focused on his shoulder. "Dang…my shoulder's killing me. Can I get a massage or something?" he laughed hoarsely. "What does a Kage have to do around here to get some decent service?" he smiled. Sakura watched as slowly, the wound was healing itself.

Natsumi smiled brightly, tears glistening her eyes once more. "Toshiro!"

"Toshiro!" Satomi mimicked her sister, her eyes watering as well.

Sakura leaned down and buried her face in her son's neck, finally allowing her pain and worry to show through her tears. "My baby." She said, kissing his cheek. She had been so worried that she would lose him. Then she placed her hand over what was left of the wound in his shoulder and aided him in healing it.

"Mom," he sighed, but had a big smile on his face. "I'm not a baby." He told her, laying his head against hers.

The twins huddled around him, joining their mother in her need to be near him. Gaara watched them, a small smile playing on his face. He was happy, he wouldn't know what to do if his son had died. He stepped forward and with his action his twins moved aside, giving him some room. Toshiro looked up at his dad and gave him a weak smile. "I'm sorry dad. I lost…I wasn't the strongest. I hope you're not mad."

A pained look crossed the older sand master's face. "I could never be mad at you Toshiro…I just want you to be safe." He said softly, placing his hand on his son's head. "I'm so proud of you. For coming back."

Toshiro let out another joyed laugh, "Well it's a good thing you married mom who's an excellent medic and had Satomi and Natsumi. They really are the greatest." He gave them each a look of appreciation.

Sakura smiled and held her son closer to her. "Alright. Alright." She sighed and reluctantly pulled away. "Toshiro needs to rest. We'll come check on you later." She told him, giving her daughter's a look. They both kissed Toshiro on either side of his face and followed their mother out.

Gaara remained still and smiled for his son. "I'm really glad you're okay. Don't worry, I'll handle everything while you are recuperating."

"Thanks dad." The younger redhead smiled and shut his eyes gratefully. Gaara left then, wanting to give his son plenty of time to heal from his grave injuries.

Akito paced the roof of the hotel, gripping his head. He didn't understand this feeling. When Natsumi had said she hated him his entire world had shattered. It was as if he had no reason to live. But that didn't make sense. He knew that he cared about her, and her opinion, but he didn't know that he cared that much.

He thought back to the morning he had left to begin his task. She had tried to stop him, talking about some premonition that she had had. He stopped when he remembered what else had been said, and what hadn't. She loves me, he thought, dropping his hands. She had said she loved him and he hadn't said anything!

He sank to the ground in defeat. Why did he care? It wasn't like he knew much about love anyways. But, he did treat Natsumi differently. He cared about her feelings and thoughts. He catered to her every whim. He comforted her when she was upset. He enjoyed her happiness and her smell. He liked to run his fingers through her hair. He liked her scar that showed the world that she was his.

Not any longer, a dark voice in that back of his mind said. So why did he care? He took off his gloves and looked at the bracelet that he still wore on his right wrist. As he had gotten older and grown the bracelet had gotten smaller. So he had learned how to weave it the same way she had and had added a navy blue section to the bracelet with the Uchiha symbol on it. That way it would always fit him, so that he never had to take it off. He took off the bracelet and examined it. He didn't deserve to wear this bracelet anymore, just as he didn't deserve to live.

Suddenly he remembered what he had told her a few nights ago. His life belonged to her, and it was obvious that she no longer wanted him in the world of the living. It hurt, to know that he had had something so beautiful, so bright, and had destroyed it.

He became sad as he thought about what dying would mean. It meant that he would never get to hear her laugh. Never get to see her smile. He would never get to hold her at night and stroke her head. He would never get to tell her how he felt. How he felt. It was then that he realized he was in love with her. She completed his being, made him whole. But it was too late to tell her that. There was no way she would want to speak with him ever again.

He remained crouched on the roof, and clutched his head once again with his hands. He had become his father. He had sworn never to become like his father, but it had happened anyways. His grip in his hair tightened as he thought of what that meant. He was a monster.

When he felt another presence on the roof he didn't move to acknowledge it. If they were there to kill him for what he had done then so be it. He deserved it anyways. He hoped it was slow and painful. That was the type of death he deserved.

"Toshiro is going to be just fine." A deep monotone voice spoke. "Even when he woke up he cracked a joke."

He stayed where he was, processing the information. His best friend was okay. But he was too miserable to feel anything more than slight relief. "I know it doesn't mean anything to you…but…I'm sorry." He said in a broken whisper.

"I know." Gaara said simply. He watched the young Uchiha's back closely, feeling the dark aura that was radiating off of him.

His body began to shake with the shock of everything that had just happened and his silent sobs. His mind was so chaotic right now, he couldn't make sense of anything. Why wasn't Gaara killing him? Why wasn't he being yelled at? Told that he was a failure and a monster? The elder redhead's behavior was puzzling him, and it didn't help any that his sanity was slowly slipping. He could feel the darkness creeping up on him, beckoning him to give up. Was this how his father had felt when his clan had been annihilated? His elder brother killed at his own hands?

Gaara let out a deep sigh. "You know…I'm sure Toshiro wants to see you." He told the Uchiha boy. He didn't know why he wasn't mad. He hated Uchihas, more than anyone. But the look on his face and the fact Toshiro was still alive had a small alert going off in his head, and then the look on his face when Natsumi had screamed at him. He'd never seen anyone so broken, and it reminded him of himself. He had done plenty of things he regretted. Tried to kill many of his friends and family. "It might make him feel better to see you." He tried to coax. He knew there was something strong between the two boys.

"No." he said firmly. It wouldn't do to open up newly closed wounds in seeing his lifelong friend before he died. It would be better if he just cut his bonds here. He stood slowly then, and brought his hands down from his head, his right one still gripping the bracelet. He knew what he had to do. "I want you to kill me." He said, staring out at the setting sun. If he was to die he wanted something beautiful to be that last thing he saw in the living world. Especially if he couldn't see Natsumi.

The redhead's forehead scrunched into confusion. "What?"

He turned and faced the older man then, his dark eyes devoid of emotion. "Kill me. Before I hurt someone else. Because I will, even if I don't mean too. It's what monsters do." He said.

"You're not a monster Akito." He said, his expression unreadable as always. "You just made a stupid choice. You wouldn't be the first and trust me…you won't be the last."

Pain entered his forest green eyes then. "Yes I am! I have become my father!" he exclaimed, voice giving away part of his inner turmoil.

Gaara sighed once more. The boy didn't understand that the fact he even cared about his actions and was having a break down was what made him different from his father. "What is the real reason you want to die?"

His expression calmed a bit, but the pain in his eyes only increased. "She doesn't want me to live anymore. I promised her that my life was hers, but she no longer wants it. And I always keep my promises." He said. He couldn't even say her name for fear of how he would react. "And…I do not wish to live any longer if she doesn't want me."

The redhead rolled his eyes. Women, always complicating things. "Fine. If you really want to die I won't stop you." He turned away from him then and started walking off. He stopped when Akito didn't follow. "Well come on. The only way I can legally kill you is in an execution. So…you're under arrest for attempting to murder a Kage." He informed him, watching him closely.

Akito nodded slightly, understanding where the redhead was going with this. He followed Gaara to the jail cell he would be holding until the execution. Before he entered it, he held his hand out to the former Kazekage. "Here. Please give this to Natsumi. And tell her…tell her I'm sorry." He said, handing him the bracelet.

Gaara stared down at the odd thing, it looked vaguely familiar. "Fine." He nodded, placing it in his pocket and shutting the cell behind him. It locked automatically. "The execution will be the day after tomorrow. I have to file some paperwork on it." He turned away from the cell and headed out of the room, sparing the depressed Uchiha one last glance. He pulled out the bracelet as he went up the stairs from the cells and sighed. It was that silly bracelet his little girl had made for Akito when they were young. He was actually surprised that he still had it. He put it back, intent on giving it to his daughter.