Chapter 21: Return to Konoha

Jiraya and Shizune saw the two blondes as they lay on the ground, passed out. They glanced at each other, then gave a nod, signaling the next move. They couldn't give away their presence, for that would start an entirely new battle. At this point, it was better not to. The current fight had to end as quickly as possible.

Deidara stood atop the tree branch, alone, with the clay bomb in hand. Jiraya and Shizune's movements were going to have to be quick. Deidara smirked sinisterly, tossed the bomb, and leaped backward out of the way. He continued to leap backward, branch after branch, to ensure he wouldn't get caught in his own work of art.

This was the moment. Immediately, Jiraya and Shizune dashed out from behind the trees and toward Natarii and Naruto. Everything seemed to move in slow motion around them. The bomb was coming down, but they still had time. Without stopping, Jiraya took Naruto and draped him over his shoulder, and Shizune cradled Natarii in her arms, making sure she didn't hurt any vital points on her already torn body. They didn't waste a second. They hadn't even stopped to breathe. It had only taken them a second to get to the two unconscious teens, and in another half of a second, they instantly escaped the area. However, The bomb made contact with the ground at the exact same moment.

BOOM!

It was hard for them to stand their ground. The effects from the explosion were strong. Debris went flying. Every tree around them was engulfed in flames. The heat was extreme. It instantaneously became more difficult to flee. Which path were they supposed to take? The trees? Where the branches continuously crunched and snapped, falling to the ground as the fire ate them and burned them to a crisp? The ground? Where the debris would fall and potentially crush them or block their path? It was a tough choice that was made only in a matter of seconds.

Jiraya and Shizune remained on foot as they continued to dash through the ablaze forest. They couldn't risk the flaming branches crumbling beneath their feet. They had to find a safe place for Natarii and Naruto to recuperate - at least enough to where they would have enough strength to return to the village. They were going to do what ever it took, whether it was getting hit by a few flaming branches, receiving several burns from the heat, taking a detour in the case that their path was blocked, or even inhaling too many toxic fumes from the smoke. Jiraya and Shizune continued to run. They didn't have too much further to go.

CRASH!

Multiple raging branches came smashing down to the ground. Jiraya and Shizune nearly ran into the newly created blockade. They were going to have to go around it. But there was a problem. Jiraya looked all around. They were completely surrounded by flaming debris. There was no way out or around. They were going to have to go above.

Shizune glanced over at Jiraya. He gave her a confident nod. It was going to be dangerous, especially with Natarii and Naruto. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. Jiraya and Shizune leaped up into the blazing trees. It was insanely hot. Hotter than either of them could have ever imagined. It was just as they had feared too. The branches were unstable. They made quick maneuvers, leaping to another tree as fast as possible to prevent themselves from plummeting to the hard ground. There was light in sight. Shizune could see it. "Just a little further!" She yelled through the crackling of the flames.

Jiraya gave another nod. "Let's go!" He yelled back to her. The two older nin leaped from the crumbling trees back to the ground. They dashed to the opening Shizune saw in the trees. The amount of flames decreased. Before they knew it, the forest looked clear, and the flames were gone. However, they continued on, for who knew when the flames would reach the part of the woods they were in now.

"Let's stop here," Shizune said after about ten extra minutes of running, once they were a far enough distance from the fire. She and Jiraya stopped in the middle of a small clearing. She lay Natarii down in the soft, green grass; Jiraya lay Naruto next to her.

"How exactly do you intend to give them both treatment at the same time?" Jiraya asked.

At that moment, a small, blue slug came crawling out of a big pocket on Shizune's pants. "Tsunade-Sama sent me along in case this situation was at hand," the slug said.

"Ah, Katsuyu-Sama," Jiraya remarked. "I figured as much."

Katsuyu gave a small nod. "Best not waste any time. I'll take Naruto-kun. He won't take nearly as long to heal with the Kyuubi's chakra." The slug slithered across the grass and onto Naruto. She concentrated her energy, and a green-ish colored glow came from her body. The healing process had begun.

Shizune took hold of Natarii's wrist, feeling for a pulse. There was a moment of nothingness, and all was silent. Then, she felt something and her eyes widened. She sighed with relief. "There's a pulse. But it's faint. We can't waste any time." She placed her hands above Natarii, parallel to the ground. The same glow that Katsuyu had come from Shizune's hands. Natarii's minor wounds instantly started closing up, and her massive injuries stopped bleeding.

Naruto was slowly regaining his normal appearance as his terrifying wounds healed, flinching and tensing his body, breathing heavily at the horrible pain it brought him. It was like the first time he had transformed into the Kyuubi to that extent, except for some reason, it seemed to be worse.

"Hang in there," Katsuyu told him, unaware of whether he actually heard her or not. Within the next few minutes, she had brought Naruto back to his original state; he sat up as Katsuyu crawled off him.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, scratching at the back of his head. "Where am I?" He looked around the clearing. Jiraya leaned against a tree in front of him and Shizune still huddled over Natarii, who remained unconscious as her major wounds that couldn't be healed completely were wrapped in a white, bandage-like material. "Ero Senin? Shizune-San? When did you guys get here?"

"Not too long ago," Shizune replied. "We came at just the right time. You two would be dead otherwise."

Two? Naruto repeated in his mind. "You mean..." His voice trailed off and he quickly stood up, rushing over to Shizune. He looked over her shoulder at the unconscious girl who lay in front of him. "You mean she's not dead?" He asked, eyes wide and filled with shock. He felt tears swell up in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his forearm, hoping no one noticed them. He continued to look over Shizune's shoulder. "What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure myself," Shizune replied as she finished basic first-aid on Natarii's wounds.

Naruto turned to Jiraya, expecting an answer.

It's just like that time, Jiraya thought as he looked at Natarii's wounds. He didn't notice Naruto, for he was too lost in his thoughts.

Naruto didn't push the question any further, even though he was dying to know the reason behind Natarii's injuries. He sat back down and leaned against a tree, for he felt exhausted. He wasn't sure why. He didn't remember getting too heavily involved with Tobi, but everything after that was a blur. For some reason, Naruto felt as if something had happened inside him. He thought hard, trying to bring back the events that had happened. He stood in front of the Kyuubi's gate, yes. But there was something else. Something unusual. A presence.

Naruto's face lit up when he remembered. It was Natarii. Why was she there? More or less, how did she get there? Images started to come back. The blood. The chains. The jutsu. The kiss on the cheek. Naruto blushed at the thought of it. "Sealing jutsu..." Naruto mumbled to himself, trying to get his mind on a different page. His head turned toward Natarii once more, making sure to look at the bloody spots on her clothes. The majority of them were on her chest, and he noticed her left shoulder still looked terrible. Her chest injuries...the chains. It made perfect sense. The damage that was done to Natarii during the re-sealing of the Kyuubi wasn't just his imagination. It was real.

"We'll head back to the village tomorrow," Shizune said, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "She'll travel better with some rest." Her gaze switched from Natarii to Naruto. "You too."

Naruto nodded, unwilling to pick a fight for a change. He felt fine. He knew he could make it back to the village, but Natarii, on the other hand, could not. He was just going to have to sit tight and wait until the next morning.

Natarii slowly open her eyes, exhausted, wishing she could just fall back asleep. She had been sleeping so soundly until now. She looked around at the new atmosphere she found herself in. A room, a large room, with two beds that were separated by a white curtain. She lay in one of the beds. Someone sat in a chair next to her, but she couldn't make out who it was. It was a woman, and she had long, brown hair that went down to her waist, and bright, emerald green eyes. She wore a white fitted short-sleeve shirt that had little ruffles by the collar with a brown sweater over it. To match her sweater, she wore a brown skirt and brown flats. "Are you awake?" A gentle voice came from the woman. She smiled at Natarii, a pure sense of warmth coming from her.

Natarii rubbed her eyes, flinching at the pain her left shoulder brought her. She was still unsure about the identity of the woman sitting next to her. It then dawned upon her that she wasn't wearing her glasses. Natarii turned her head toward the nightstand that was next to her, and briefly caught a glance of her glasses sitting next to a vase of flowers. Using her right arm, she reached out to them and took them from their place. She then slid them onto her face. Her eyes widened. "Mom?"

The woman nodded, and Natarii's heart sank. As much as she loved her mom, she was the last person she wanted to see. The situation about her parents' past was still a little much for her to comprehend.

"How are you feeling?" Her mom asked her before she had the chance to say anything.

"It hurts," Natarii replied bluntly, clutching her left arm. Her chest hurt too, but Shizune's healing seemed to work more efficiently on her chest, so it didn't hurt as severely as her arm.

"How did you get such a severe injury?" Her mom continued.

Natarii debated whether she should tell the truth or not, despite the fact that she vowed to herself to always speak the truth. But, to be honest, she couldn't remember what had happened. "It was...um..." Natarii couldn't bring herself to say anything. "Aren't you mad at me?" She asked, abruptly changing the subject. She hoped her mom would follow it.

"In a normal situation, I suppose one could say I would be angry, but given the circumstances of this one, I am far more concerned than mad," Natarii's mom replied, the sparkle in her eyes told Natarii that she wasn't lying. "If anyone is to be angry, I would think it would be you."

Natarii's eyes widened. Her mom was right, for she really was somewhat mad. But how did she know? Could she tell? Natarii was usually pretty good at hiding her emotions.

Natarii's mom noticed her daughter's slight confusion. "I'm sorry I never told you anything. I just wanted to keep it all in the dark."

"What're you talking about?" Natarii asked, giving her mother a rather strange look.

"Everything Jiraya told you is true."

That's it for today's chapter!

Next is: "Chapter 22: Natarii's Ninja Past!" Natarii learns of her parents' role in Konoha! What exactly happened to make them leave the ninja world?

'Til next time!

-ChibiNinja45