I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Life starts again
Two days had passed since Naruko had awakened in the hospital room and now she was finally feeling one hundred percent again. She had been ordered by Tsunade to take it easy and was forbidden to do any training what so ever. Yesterday she had tried to convince Haku that she felt good enough to do some training but Haku had threatened to take away her kissing privileges for a week if she did any training for the rest of the week. Naruko quickly crawled back into the couch not wanted to receive such an unfair punishment much to the amusement of Yuugao and Anko.
Now however those two days had passed and Naruko was itching to go outside and do something. Sitting still was something she hated with a passion. There had been some good moments too though as like when Haku jumped into the shower with her. That had been a bold move by the girl but Haku argued that she didn't want to waste more time with moving slowly. They still hadn't made love but they were close and Naruko couldn't wait for the day that they finally did.
"Naru-chan, are you ready?" Haku asked from the living room.
"Yep, I'll be right out." Naruko yelled back while putting her hair in a ponytail. "I wonder how the village is doing?" She said once she joined Haku in the living room.
"Anko-neechan said that the damages in the village weren't that great." Haku remarked while dragging Naruko outside. "She said that most Genin teams were assigned to clear out the debris and contractors were already busy repairing the houses."
"Wow, they move fast." Naruko said impressed. "How about we go say hello to Ayame-neechan?"
"Okay." Haku smiled and held her girlfriend's hand while they walked towards the Ichiraku Ramen stand. On their way there they noticed that several shinobi that they hardly knew or had spoken too before, greeted them amicably. Several academy students looked in awe at them and one little girl even approached them for an autograph.
"What's going on?" Naruko said bewildered.
"I don't know but it's weird." Haku agreed. "I've been getting those looks for the past two days now. I meant to ask about it but totally forgot. We should ask Yuugao-neechan later tonight."
When they reached Ichiraku's they quickly sat down and ordered a bowl of ramen for the both of them. Ayame was very happy to see the two of them and told how frightened she had been during the evacuation. She and her father feared for their stand but luckily it had survived the invasion without damage.
"I don't know how you girls do it." Ayame said finally. "I was scared to death when the alarms went off. Everywhere people were fighting, I saw people hurt and bleeding on the street and there was nothing we could do to help."
"It's normal to be scared Ayame-neechan." Naruko said gently. "I mean, I was scared too but we've been trained to suppress our fear and do what is necessary. Luckily, we were aware of the attack in advance and were prepared for them. I don't want to think what could have happened otherwise."
"People have been talking about the two of you." Ayame said suddenly. "This morning a few shinobi were talking about how strong the two of you were and how you defeated many enemies during the attack. They were very impressed with you two."
"Really?" Naruko said surprised. "Maybe that's why people were greeting and smiling at us?"
"No doubt." Haku agreed.
The rest of the time at Ichiraku's was spent by talking to Ayame and her father who had arrived later as he was doing some shopping before. He too was glad to see the two girls in good health and he thanked both of them for fighting so bravely against the invaders. Naruko and Haku blushed and said it was only normal as they were kunoichi of the Leaf. They would have stayed a bit longer but they still wanted to visit some people so they left with a promise to pass by later that week.
It didn't take them very long to reach their next destination. It was a simple building that luckily escaped from being damaged by the invasion, the building had several apartments for shinobi. It was here that they would find the person they were looking for. Having looked up the address before they left they went straight for the right apartment and knocked several times. Both girls heard someone yelling that they would be right there. When the door opened a surprised Lee greeted them.
"Naruko-san, Haku-san, how great to see you." Lee said enthusiastic while letting them in.
"How have you been Lee?" Naruko asked worried when she saw Lee move with his crutch.
"I'm getting better." Lee sighed softly. "The doctor says that my leg will heal but the problem is that several bone fragments are lodged near my spinal cord. According to the doctor it's impossible to remove them."
"Surely there's someone who can help you?" Haku said sadly. She liked Lee, sure he was a bit strange and the whole youthful thing could be damn annoying but Lee was a good guy that would never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it.
"Gai-sensei and I visited several doctors and they all said the same thing." Lee answered. "I'm afraid my shinobi career is over."
"Don't give up yet." Naruko shouted. "What about Tsunade-Baa-chan? She's the best medic-nin ever so I'm sure she can help you."
"Tsunade-sama?" Lee asked, a spark of hope in eyes. "Do you think she would want to help me?"
"Don't you worry." Haku smiled at the young shinobi in front of her. "We're headed to the hospital anyway. We'll ask her to come visit you so she can take a look at your injuries."
"If anyone can help you it's Tsunade-Baa-chan." Naruko nodded. "We'll drag her over here if we need to. You better be ready to start training again Lee because otherwise Haku-chan and I will surpass you."
"Thank you Naruko-san, Haku-san." Lee said with tears in his eyes. "I have been most un-youthful. I was wallowing in self-pity and depression. Thanks to both of you, I now see how wrong I was. I shall do a thousand kicks and punches as soon as I get better."
"That's the spirit." Naruko laughed. While he still wasn't back at being the old Lee, they could see that his spirit had been lifted and that he regained a bit of hope. Both girls truly hoped that Tsunade would be able to help their friend. They stayed for about an hour, where they told Lee all about their part in the invasion and what had happened. Needless to say Lee was very impressed and promised to train very hard so he could catch up to them.
"That's okay Lee, just wait until Tsunade-sama gives you the okay to start training again." Haku smiled.
"Yeah otherwise she'll just put you on probation and tie you to the bed." Naruko joked but somehow she felt like that would be the kind of thing that the woman would do to a patient like Lee.
When they said their goodbye's Lee was feeling much better and it showed as he gave them a 'nice guy' pose. That alone was sign that the old Lee was surfacing again and the girls couldn't be happier. Sure he was loud and had no fashion sense whatsoever but he was their friend and they wanted to see him happy.
Next stop was the hospital where Sakura was still being held under observation. She had awoken the day after the invasion but would have to spend at least one more week in the hospital. Her wounds had been serious enough to warrant such a lengthy stay according to Tsunade and while Naruko still didn't like the pink-haired girl very much, both she and Haku decided to pay her a visit. When they reached her room they didn't expect to hear two voices argue. Wondering what was going on they entered the room only to find Ino glaring at a very smug looking Sakura.
"Wipe that grin of your face, forehead-girl." Ino snapped.
"Bite me Ino-Buta." Sakura grinned. "You're just mad that you weren't the one to save Sasuke-kun's life."
The shouting continued until Shizune suddenly burst in the room, completely ignoring Haku and Naruko. She grabbed Ino by the collar and opened the window before tossing Ino out. Luckily they were on the first floor but Ino was so shocked that she still landed on her butt. Sakura was shocked as well and when Shizune turned towards her, she hid herself by using her covers.
"I told you yesterday that shouting and arguing inside the hospital is forbidden."Shizune glared at Sakura. "Don't make me repeat myself again or I'll put you with the old men on the second floor. Do I make myself clear?"
"Y-yes Shizune-san." Sakura gulped fearful. She definitely didn't want to be put with all those all men. Perverts, the lot of them according to some of the other nurses.
"Good." Shizune smiled and headed back to the hallway. When she passed Haku and Naruko she greeted them with a smile and thanked them for coming to see Sakura.
"Way to go, Sakura." Naruko snorted. "That's the first time I've seen Shizune mad."
"I didn't think Shizune-san could be angry." Haku added smiling. All the time they had spent with Tsunade and Shizune, they had never heard or seen Shizune raise her voice. This was quite a first for both girls.
"Argh, what are you doing here?" Sakura groaned. "And it's not my fault, Ino-buta provoked me."
"Sure she did." Naruko snorted once more. "And we're here to see how you were doing but it seems that you're just fine."
"Oh t-thank you." Sakura said shocked. "Didn't expect you to come visit, that's all."
"Don't expect it to happen that often." Naruko shrugged.
"So, how are you feeling?" Haku asked the pink-haired girl.
"As good as can be I guess." Sakura admitted. "The doctor says I was luckily that Tsunade-sama was there to heal some of my worst wounds. He said I lost a lot of blood and that I would need to take it easy for several days. I should be out by next week."
"That's something at least." Haku smiled gently.
"Ino said that you defeated that Suna shinobi that Sasuke-kun was fighting." Sakura mentioned to Naruko. "I don't remember much of what happened during the fight. Did Sasuke get hurt or anything? Ino said Shikamaru and Shino carried us to safety."
"No, I knocked out Sasuke because he was refusing to listen to reason." Naruko told her. "He was only going to get himself killed if he stayed."
"You knocked out Sasuke-kun?" Sakura almost yelled before remembering Shizune's threat. "Why did you do that for? Sasuke-kun is the strongest Genin out of all of us."
"True, he might be the strongest Genin." Naruko grinned. "But Haku-chan and I are Chuunin and thus we're his ranking officers. He refused to obey orders and because of that another shinobi of the Leaf got hurt. He's lucky all I did was knock him out."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked somewhat worried.
"Disobedience during a mission, and make no mistake, this was a mission and perhaps this might even be considered borderline insubordination, is punishable under Konoha Law." Naruko said. "You do know the punishment for that do you?"
"Y-yes, up to three months probation depending on the severity of situation." Sakura said softly. She knew everything about the Shinobi rules and this was one of them. "If result in a death, the shinobi involved might face one year jail time."
"That's right." Naruko nodded. "Don't get your panties in a twist though, that only happens when the ranking officer demands it."
"And since Naru-chan here is the ranking officer, she didn't file a complaint." Haku added. "Sasuke-san will not face any punishment this time."
"Thank you." Sakura said relieved.
"You better tell him to be careful." Naruko warned her. "Next time he disobeys an order, that person might not be so kind. Not everyone is impressed with him just because he's an Uchiha."
Sensing that the conversation was about to shift to the defense of Sasuke, Haku told Naruko that they better get a move on as they still had people to visit. Naruko understood what Haku was trying to do and she was very grateful. They both told Sakura to get better soon and that she had managed to make some progress as a kunoichi but still had a long way to go. That made Sakura yell out that she would get better and become a real kunoichi. Her yelling however caused Shizune to storm into her room and dragged her to the second floor just like she had promised. Naruko snickered at seeing Sakura's terrified face when she realized what had happened.
"You did that on purpose." Haku accused her lover.
"Who? Me?" Naruko said innocently. In truth she didn't do it on purpose but that didn't make it any less funny.
Still grinning at Sakura's fate, Naruko and Haku went straight to Tsunade's office to tell her about Lee. Tsunade was very busy but she promised that she would visit Lee first thing tomorrow before she came to the hospital. She would have gone immediately but she first needed to review his file, otherwise she would go in blind and lose precious time. Naruko and Haku thanked her for her help and stayed a bit longer, just to keep her company.
When they left the hospital they encountered Iruka and his class, who were on their way to the Academy after some outdoor training session. Again many of the kids stared at the two girls and both Haku and Naruko were slightly unnerved by all the attention they received. Iruka noticed this and ordered his students to get going or else there would be some special test. The kids al hurried to the classroom as none of them wanted to take another of Iruka's tests.
"Sorry about that." Iruka smiled. "It's just that the two of you have been a hot topic ever since the attack. You know how kids are when they meet with their heroes."
"Heroes? Us?" Naruko asked surprised. "Geez Iruka-sensei, I know we participated in the counter-attack but it wasn't all that special."
"There were plenty of others who contributed to the defense of Konoha as well." Haku agreed with Naruko.
"While that may be the case, you two were some of the youngest kunoichi to have an active part in the counter-attack." Iruka disagreed. "You two were at the front lines while the others were unaware of anything that happened until the last moment. Add in the fact that you " here he pointed to Naruko "defeated a giant monster of sand with a huge Raiton attack. And you "now pointing at Haku "used Hyouton Jutsu to save the Hokage from certain death. Well, you can imagine how those kids' imagination goes wild. They can relate to you because unlike most shinobi, the two of you are still young and the age gap isn't all that big."
"Urgh, next thing we know we're going to have a fanclub or something like that." Naruko said annoyed to which Iruka only laughed harder. "Don't tell me there's already one of those."
"Okay, I won't but I would be lying." Iruka smiled deviously. "Hey, it's not that bad. The two of you make a fine example for the girls. Lord knows there are too many fangirls around. Seeing the two of you might show them the error of their ways. Hey, maybe the two of you could give a class to the girls. What do you say?"
"We'd love to." Haku said before Naruko could refuse.
"Great, I'll let you know the details once I work them out." Iruka happily smiled before he left for the academy.
"Haku-chan, are you crazy?" Naruko rounded on Haku. "Why did you agree to that?"
"Oh come on Naru-chan, it could be fun." Haku smiled. "Besides, it could mean that more girls take their training seriously and we avoid more future Sakura's and Ino's. They give kunoichi a bad name and it might save lives."
"I don't know…." Naruko hesitated.
"Please Naru-chan, for me?" Haku pleaded. "I'll make it up to you."
"Oh fine but you owe me one." Naruko sighed. "Big time."
"Deal." Haku grinned and kissed her girlfriend.
They only had one more stop that afternoon and so they set out. It didn't take them very long to reach their destination and soon they could hear the whispering of the shinobi that were gathered in that part of town. It was here that all the Suna-nin who had surrendered were housed for the time being. Most of them were ordered to help with the reconstruction by their superiors and while there was still some tension between the two villages, it seemed like things were actually working out.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Naru-chan?" Haku asked.
"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be okay." Naruko reassured her girlfriend. "Besides, I feel like this is important." She then knocked on the door. A muffled answer could be heard from inside before the door opened. A young shinobi with face-paint on gulped at seeing who had just knocked on his door.
"Y-You?" Kankuro said with a hint of fear in his voice. "What do you want?"
"You're Kankuro right?" Naruko smiled. "I'm here to speak to Gaara. Is he here?"
"H-he's here b-but I don't know if he wants to see you." Kankuro nodded not believing his ears. So far nobody had ever come to see Gaara out of their own free will.
"That's alright, we won't take long." Naruko insisted.
Kankuro sighed and nodded before moving aside so the girls could enter. Kankuro guided them to the living room where his sister was reading some kind of scroll. When she looked up to see who had arrived, she dropped her scroll in shock.
"You're the girl who defeated Gaara." Temari remarked. "What are you doing here? I won't let you hurt Gaara any further."
"Geez, calm down will you." Naruko said quickly. "We're not here to hurt anyone. I just wanted to talk to Gaara. I have no intention to fight him. Haku-chan here threatened to take away my kissing privileges if I do any training or fighting this week."
"Kissing privileges?" Temari asked curious. "Are you two together or something?"
"Naruko-chan and I have been a couple for several months now." Haku nodded smiling. "It's the only way I could think of to keep her in line."
Temari nodded while Kankuro just stared at the two girls with a perverted look in his eyes. His sister quickly noticed and hit him upon the head with her giant fan, knocking him out. Temari didn't like perverts any better than the next girl so she didn't feel bad about hitting her brother. She was a bit surprised to hear the two girls speak so openly about their relationship but in the end it was their business who they told.
"Sorry about him." Temari apologized. "He's just a pervert. Feel free to do some damage."
"Not that it's not inviting but I'll pass." Naruko smiled. "Is Gaara here?"
"Oh sure, he's in his room." Temari nodded. "I'll go get him, wait right here."
Gaara had been very quiet for the past two days. That was quite understandable as he had a lot to think about. First of all, he came to realize that there were people out there, that could inflict injuries onto him. That had been a surprise as no one had ever done so before. But in Konoha there had been three people that managed to hurt him during a fight. First was that weird kid with the giant eyebrows and the green monstrosity he called clothes. He had never seen someone that could out-move his sand and yet this guy had succeeded in doing just that. Then there was that Uchiha guy who had managed to pierce through his shield with a Raiton jutsu and that was actually the first time someone had made him bleed. That had been different. But the worst was the last person he fought.
He had encountered her when he tried to kill the Taijutsu fighter in the hospital. Even then she seemed different from all the rest. When they had fought in the forest however, he truly understood just how different she was. No matter what the threw at her, she either retaliated in full force or just went beyond the impossible. He had even unleashed his full Bijuu form and even that wasn't enough to defeat her. He was told her name was Uzumaki Naruko. He would remember that name for the rest of his life. She was the first person to truly defeat him.
After the fight that white-haired man explained that Uzumaki was just about the only one to understand what he had been through. He didn't think that was possible but something about the man seemed to show him he was speaking the truth. He didn't got the chance to ask what he meant by that as his siblings then appeared.
Siblings. He had never considered them that before. Until a few days ago they were just his teammates, two burdens he needed to deal with. He knew they were his brother and sister but he never once called them that. To him, they were just the same as all the rest. They looked at him in fear and revulsion. Perhaps he couldn't really blame them as he did some pretty gruesome stuff when his bloodlust arose. Now however, he had promised himself to work on his relationship with them. Now that their father was gone, perhaps things would change. It would take time of course. One does not rebuild relationships that have been destroyed years ago in a blink of an eye. No, it would take time and effort from both sides to make things work between them.
Gaara would have to learn to be compassionate and patient with both of them. His brother especially could get on his nerves with his complaining and rambling all the time. Not to mention when he stole Temari's make-up and she found out. Maybe he should try and find the funny part in seeing his brother getting his ass kicked by their sister.
Temari and Kankuro would have to learn to shed their fear for him. Not an easy thing to do when you can kill without lifting a finger. He knew how people regarded him as a killer and a monster. He even considered himself one but maybe he should try and reduce the number of killings a bit.
"Gaara?" He heard his sister voice on the other side of the door. "There's someone who wants to speak to you. Can I come in?"
Gaara sighed and wondered who had come to disturb his thinking. He figured that it would be someone of Konoha to talk to him about Suna or something like. The day before he and the rest of his team had been questioned about the invasion. They weren't being accused of anything but they were still interrogated. He walked to the door and opened it.
"Who is it?" He asked his sister.
"They're waiting in the living room." Temari smiled a bit. "Come on, she seems pretty anxious to talk to you."
"She?" Gaara wondered but closely followed Temari. When he entered the living room he noticed Kankuro stare at their guest with a goofy smile on his face. He was also rubbing his head in a way people did when they hurt themselves. "Uzumaki?" he said when he recognized the blonde.
"Hello Gaara, I'm glad to see you're okay." Naruko said nodding. "This is Haku, she's my best friend and girlfriend."
"I remember you from the day in the hospital." Gaara said at Haku. "You used ice to restrain me."
"That would be me." Haku smiled. "I'm glad to meet you again in better circumstances."
"How about I get us some drinks." Temari said. "Kankuro, come with me."
"What? Why?" Kankuro complained not wanting to leave the two girl out of his sight. He stopped complaining when Temari glared at him, already grabbing her fan to force the issue. "Okay, no need to get violent."
"You have wonderful siblings, Gaara-san." Haku said gently.
"I guess." Gaara said. "Why did you come here?"
"We came to see how you were doing." Naruko admitted. "I overpowered my last attack a bit so I feared that you got hurt. I'm glad to see you're okay."
"My wounds were superficial and that big breasted woman treated my wounds." Gaara answered.
Normally Haku and Naruko would have reacted to the 'big breasted' comment but both of them could see that Gaara hadn't meant to say something perverted. He only used the term to describe her as he probably didn't know who she was. In a way it was an innocent comment from a boy who obviously didn't know any better so they let it slide.
"Tsunade-sama is one of the Sannin and she's the best medic-nin in the world." Haku explained. "She's a great person."
"How did you do it?" Gaara suddenly asked Naruko.
"Do what?" Naruko asked not really knowing what he was talking about.
"How did you beat me?" Gaara asked again. "Nobody has ever defeated me before but yet you did. How did you get so strong?"
"Oh, well I guess there are several answers to that." Naruko shrugged. "Part of it is that I train very hard with Haku-chan here and our sisters. They have taught us a lot and we got stronger with them guiding us. But the most important things is that I couldn't afford to lose."
"I don't understand." Gaara said.
"You were a danger to my village and to the people I love." Naruko explained. "In Konoha we believe that a person can achieve anything when they are fighting for those they love. It enables them to fight and win even when they are hurt and alone, it gives them strength and courage to face even the worst situations. We call this the 'Will of Fire'."
"The will of fire?" Gaara repeated.
"That's right." Haku nodded. "I've only been a part of Konoha for several months now and until now I have never seen or heard anything like it. I've seen a lot but I have never seen anything like the 'Will of Fire.' I truly believe that it's this that makes Konoha the strongest village in the elemental countries."
"Suna does not have anything like that." Gaara said more to himself than to the two girls in front of him. "Maybe I can use this 'Will of Fire' as well?"
"Sure, you only have to find the one thing you care the most about and fight to keep that person safe." Naruko smiled. "Then you'll become truly strong."
"Someone you care about?" Gaara whispered. "How does one find that person?"
"Just start out by making friends and you'll that person someday." Haku smiled.
"I don't have any friends." Gaara sighed. "Everyone fears me."
"Well you have two friends now if you want." Naruko said putting her hand out making Gaara look at her with wide eyes. He slowly brought up his arm and, like he was afraid her hand would burn him, he grabbed her hand and shook it slightly.
"F-Friends?" Gaara said, hope clearly hearable in his voice.
"Friends." Naruko smiled brightly. When she let go of his hand, Haku repeated the process, confirming that she too wanted to be friend with him.
Now that the ice was broken, Temari and Kankuro returned to the living room. They had been watching from the other room and Temari was crying happy tears when she saw Gaara showing some human emotions for the first time in years, if not ever. She would forever be grateful to the two kunoichi for doing what she was unable to do. Bringing back her brother from the hell that was his loneliness. While she still hated her father and Orochimaru for tricking them into waging war against Konoha, it had enabled Gaara to come out of his shell and regain control of his emotions. That was all she cared about and she had no doubt that from now on she would have her little brother back. The future looked bright for once.