Chapter Twenty Six: Rehabilitation
'Flashback story' is partly written by No More Masquerade
Betad by Carrie2sky
Everything was perfect. At least it looked like it from the outside, but on the inside, everything was in commotion.
"AAH!"
A loud, pained scream rang out.
"Stop that Naruto! If you continue to scratch yourself, things will end up really bad for you!" Minato shouted at Naruto as he tried to keep the scratching little blonde still. "You have to stop it, Naruto!"
"NO!" Naruto screamed in defiance as he tried to scratch his already bleeding arms. His wounds still hadn't recovered from the Tsuwamono incident yet; so all this scratching opened new wounds and re-opened the old ones.
Minato was very worried over this. The old wounds hadn't healed yet, and even for a normal person, the wounds would have closed by now, but something was really off that made Naruto's wounds heal much slower.
"Naruto!" Tsunade screamed from the doorway, looking at Naruto with very stern eyes.
Naruto looked back at her with lustrous eyes and both Minato and Tsunade could see the fear in those deep blue pools.
"I'm sorry that I have to yell, but you have to calm down," Tsunade told him in a much calmer manner and proceeded to walk over to Naruto and Minato with a frown. "I can give you that medicine so that it won't itch anymore, do you want that?" she asked as Naruto nodded hesitantly, still a bit frightened.
Tsunade calmly walked over to one of the cabinets and prepared a syringe for Naruto. It didn't take long until Naruto got injected and felt the itchy disappear. He sighed in relief as Minato, who had watched everything, smiled sadly and hugged Naruto closely.
Minato now knew for sure that Kyūbi was doing everything he could to hurt him by hurting Naruto. Naruto was his weak spot.
Minato looked out the window of Naruto's room thinking about all of this when he felt Naruto pull on a part of his trousers since he couldn't reach his shirt. His hands were held by his sides since Minato still had a grip around him.
Minato turned to look at Naruto and noticed that there was something bothering the little boy.
"What is it son?" Minato asked. He looked at Naruto's pale and worried face as he caressed one scarred cheek. Naruto blinked with one eye and swallowed hard while looking up at Minato.
"Ano . . .I've got this weird feeling . . ." Naruto answered and then looked away from Minato to avoid looking into the older blonde's intense blue eyes.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Minato asked again as he laid Naruto back down comfortably on the bed before sitting down on a chair next to him.
"Well . . .all the time . . .it feels like I'm not alone, as if someone else is here with me," Naruto explained. At first Minato was confused, but then he understood and his eyes widened. Naruto was talking about Kyūbi.
"How do you mean? Is it as if someone is always watching you, or that you can feel someone else inside you?" Minato asked, trying not to stress Naruto too much.
"The second one and it's like someone else is sharing my body with me and . . .it hurts," Naruto finished as his voice cracked.
"Naruto . . ." Minato sighed, with sadness in his eyes.
"There is a pain . . .in my stomach and that's not the only thing that hurts. My head and heart also hurt. It feels like something bad is happening and if that bad won't stop . . .you'll disappear," Naruto went on as the tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. "I don't like this feeling . . .or these feelings."
Naruto felt different because of these pains. He felt . . .unwanted . . .like a person who was never meant to be loved. Ugh . . .love again . . .that soggy, mushy word is no longer a part of his vocabulary because he felt he would never use it. His life felt like a dark, lonely cave waiting for someone to come along and light a match to make everything clear . . .and bright and perfect. He just couldn't find the exact words to describe the pain.
Even though he had talked about love with Minato before and he had said that it was like something sweet, these pains made it feel like nothing of that sweet ever had existed.
"It's okay to cry Naruto, sometimes you need it let it out," Minato told him, feeling like crying himself. Damn that Kyūbi. Damn that Kaikou! Damn everything! "You know, there's nothing wrong with crying."
"Hai . . ." Naruto whispered and let the tears fall like rivers down his cheeks, letting nothing stop them.
"Shh . . .it's going to okay," Minato said in an attempt to comfort Naruto, but somehow he knew that it wasn't enough. "Just come to me if there is anything that's bothering you. That's why I'm here Naruto, I'm your . . . dad, and it's my responsibility as a parent to make sure that you're feeling well and safe," Minato finished as Naruto nodded, drying his tears away.
"Hai, Otou-san," Naruto answered as he smiled weakly and reached for his dad.
Minato took Naruto in his arms and hugged him tight. Naruto clenched his hands on Minato's chest and by so doing ended up with fists full of his shirt.
Suddenly, Naruto stiffened in Minato's arms.
Minato frowned. "Naruto . . .?" he asked and when he didn't get an answer he looked down at Naruto's face and was met with blank but tear-filled blue eyes that were wide. "Naruto!"
Naruto didn't even flinch as Minato tried his best to wake Naruto from his daze.
"Naruto!" Minato yelled as Naruto finally blinked, letting more tears fall. He was paler than before and he was trembling like a leaf in tree when it was stormy outside.
"W-what was-s tha-at . . .?" Naruto asked, as his eyes were still wide out of, what Minato could tell, shock, disbelief and horror. Yes . . .horror.
"What do you mean Naruto? What happened?" Minato asked in a worried voice as Naruto's lower lip trembled, but didn't say anything. "Please Naruto, if you tell me I can help you to get rid of it."
"A r-red f-fox . . ." Naruto whispered as more tears fell again, down his scarred cheeks and were dripping down on Minato's shirt, soaking it.
"Is he regaining his memories or is it just Kyūbi trying to scare him more than it already has done?" a concerned Minato asked a very exhausted Tsunade.
Minato and Tsunade were sitting in Naruto's room with Naruto asleep in Minato's arms. He was still squeamish because of Kyūbi's appearance in his mind. Tsunade was sitting in the same chair that Minato usually sat in, but since Minato was currently sitting on the bed she used it instead.
"I don't think that he is regaining his memories, but rather it's Kyūbi that's playing with him . . . again," Tsunade answered as she laid her head in her hands with a deep sigh. "This is so frustrating . . .irritating and . . . plain rough. Everything is happening to Naruto and it seems like destiny won't let you live happily together," she said and sighed again as Minato looked away from her sitting form.
"You're right about that, but that won't keep me from trying to be a good father," Minato answered determinedly as Tsunade looked up at him, but she only saw his profile and looked away again.
"I know that, you're as stubborn as ever, but there is something you should now," Tsunade said in a very serious tone that worried Minato even more than he already was for the moment. "Since Kyūbi is doing this to Naruto, there's a big chance he'll regain his memories and . . .well, the more Kyūbi bothers him the faster Naruto will remember."
"Is . . . is that bad or good?" Minato asked in a worried tone.
"Well, if you want to be an optimist and only look at the positive in this situation, Naruto will act more like he did before all of this happened, and perhaps even return to his original body, but that's pretty improbable, since he's been in this body for so long now . . ." Tsunade trailed off and looked at the clenched fists in her lap, her knuckles were already white and they were shaking. Her muscles were screaming for her to relax, but she didn't care.
"But I'm not an optimist . . ." Minato answered as he held the sleeping boy closer to himself. "I'm a realist. I do have hope, but I just can't ignore all the bad things that are and keep happening around us," Minato finished as Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"Baka," she said and raised her gaze to meet two intense blue that reminded her of the child that all of this was about. "You're a real baka."
"I know," Minato answered and his expression was still serious so Tsunade couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Nnh . . ." Naruto moved in Minato's arms and snuggled deeper into the warmth and neither Tsunade nor Minato could help but smile.
"He's adorable," Tsunade said and smiled wider than before. "Just so adorable . . ." she sighed.
"Yeah," Minato agreed and laid his cheek on Naruto's blonde head. His son was adorable in every way possible and even Kyūbi couldn't anything to change that. Despite the fact that Naruto was covered in wounds and bandages, he was still Minato's adorable Naruto. "And that's the way it'll stay . . ."
Tsunade frowned. "You want him to stay like a three-year-old his whole life?" she teased as Minato sent her a playful glare.
"I didn't say that, but nothing can change the fact that he will always be my adorable son," Minato answered with a proud grin as Tsunade rolled her eyes with a sigh.
Cocky bastard, she thought and shook her head.
"Ne, Tsunade?" Minato asked, after a few seconds.
Tsunade looked up at him with a 'hm' and noticed the serious expression on his face. She frowned again.
"Remember when I told you something about Kyūbi when Naruto woke up and began scratching himself?" he asked as Tsunade nodded. "We also talked about the Yin and Yang chakra inside of our bodies."
"Do you want to tell me more about it?" Tsunade asked and straightened up in her seat.
"You have the right to know since . . .things can . . .screw up pretty bad if my plan won't work," Minato said with hesitation as Tsunade swallowed hard. "Can you promise me something?" Minato asked, avoiding Tsunade's worried face.
"What is this all about Minato?" Tsunade asked as Minato heard her concern and worry in her voice; it hurt him.
"Just promise me that you'll take care of Naruto if something happens," Minato answered as Tsunade eyes widened with fear and disbelief.
"What are you talking about? You'll be there for Naruto, you've promised him that," she said and tried her best not to scream so that Naruto wouldn't wake up from his slumber. "And why do you want me to take care of him?"
"What I'm about to do isn't immaculate. Nothing in this world is perfect so not a single plan is perfect," Minato continued, sighing. "My plan is not impeccable so if something happens to me I want you to be his guardian since I'm pretty positive that he won't turn back to his fifteen-year-old body. You were like a parent to me together with Jiraiya, so I trust you, but since Jiraiya isn't here anymore . . .obviously, I can't put this on him," Minato finished with tears threatening to fall from his lustrous eyes.
"I see . . . but are you sure that this plan of yours is something that you have to go through with?" Tsunade asked uncertainly clear in her voice.
"Yes, because my idea involves getting Kyūbi out of Naruto and Kaikou out of me, forever, and it just may work."
The days passed very quickly and it was already time for Naruto to learn how to walk again. He still had his wounds, but they weren't as bad as a month ago. They still weren't healing that fast, and Naruto would never be well enough to get out of the hospital by simply lying down. Naruto would heal faster if he could do excises that weren't too tough for him.
"Take it easy now Naruto, if you push yourself too hard, it will taken even longer for you to get better," Tsunade warned him, as she, Naruto and Minato were walking down to the hospital's swimming pool, in order for Naruto to begin his rehabilitation.
The first step for Naruto was to learn how to swim to a certain degree and after that he could begin walking on floors. To learn how to walk at once on solid ground would be too hard at the beginning, so Tsunade wanted to start off with swimming, since it was all around easier on the body.
"Okay Naruto, Minato will hold on to you the whole time. Just do as I say, you'll be fine, okay?" Tsuande asked as they walked through a corridor that lead to the swimming pool.
"Okay," Naruto answered, still feeling a little uncertain about this whole thing. He was being carried on Minato's right side. He was also still in his hospital gown. As soon as they got down to the pool, they were going to put normal swimming trunks on him, but since his wounds were like they were, they had to be extra careful.
Tsunade planed to use a kind of ointment that was transparent and very sticky on Naruto's wounds so that water couldn't get into the wounds as easily as if they didn't use this ointment. After the gel was applied, it would dry and seal the wounds, acting as protection.
"So Naruto . . . what colour do you want for your trunks?" Tsunade asked when they entered the hall where the swimming pool was. "You can choose between, black, dark blue, red, green and orange," she explained to Naruto who didn't even think before answering.
"Orange!" he yelled and grinned childishly. Minato laughed and Tsunade snorted in response.
"Orange it is then," she said and tossed Minato a small pair of trunks and then a bigger pair for Minato, which were orange as well.
Minato gave her a confused look as he looked at the trunks and than at Naruto, who was smiling, still feeling a bit unsure, but at the same time he was really happy.
"You want me to swim with him?" he asked as he frowned deeply.
Tsunade nodded. "Of course, baka! He can't swim alone in his condition. I want you to help Naruto use his legs as much as possible, but not so much that it'll hurt him, okay? It won't be that hard," Tsunade explained as Minato chuckled, feeling embarrassed about his earlier question.
"Fine, turn around then," Minato said as Tsunade turned her back towards him and Naruto with a smirk and walked over to a cabinet where she had the ointment for Naruto's wounds.
She could hear the rustle of clothes coming off and landing on the floor and after a few minutes Minato said that it was okay to turn around. She did, and looked at Minato with a smug expression, as he just rolled his eyes.
"Help Naruto take the hospital clothes off so that we'll be able to apply the ointment," Tsunade instructed as she picked up a pair p gloves from a drawer and another bottle from one of the cabinets.
Minato removed Naruto's small shirt, which even though it was in a small size, was still too big for Naruto. Naruto winced as he held his arms above his head. It wasn't that hard to do so since Naruto currently was sitting on a chair that Minato had put him down on.
When he had removed the shirt, they could see all the bandages around Naruto's small torso and even though the bandages covered up the wounds, Minato knew that the horrible wounds were under them. Not as horrible as before, but it wasn't something that was normal with small kids.
"It's cold," Naruto said and wrapped his thin arms around his trembling body.
"I know, but this won't take long, and when we're done putting on a liquid over your wounds, we'll put on your swimming trunks, and then you'll be going down into the warm water. Do you think you'll be okay until then?" Minato asked. Naruto nodded.
"This liquid is cold, but just like Minato said, you'll get down in the warm water afterwards so it'll be okay," Tsunade explained as she kneeled down so that her forehead was as high as Naruto's stomach.
"We'll remove the bandages and put this on, but you'll have to sit still to let it dry, think you can do that?" Tsunade asked as Naruto nodded. Both Tsunade and Minato noticed that he was shaking because of the cold.
"Come on Naruto, you can sit in my lap while Tsunade applies it, then you won't be as cold," Minato said as he picked Naruto up from the chair and sat down on it himself with Naruto in his lap.
Naruto leant back against Minato, making his back feel warm, as Minato wrapped his arms carefully around his little stomach, to keep that warm, leaving only his arms and legs exposed to the cold, so that Tsunade could fix them first.
"Better?" Minato asked as Naruto nodded, feeling much more comfortable.
At first, Naruto squirmed when Tsunade applied the 'cold, slimy goo' as Naruto put it, but by the time both arms were done, he was starting to get used to it, and when his whole upper body was finished, he was perfectly fine. Minato was glad that Naruto had remained calm during the whole process.
It was really hard on Minato to see Naurto's wounds. Every time he saw the wounds on his son, they painfully pricked at his heart. He sighed.
Minato proceeded to remove Naruto's trousers so that he was left in only birthday suit. Tsuande then applied the ointment to his feet, calves, knees, thighs, hips and lower back. Naruto was covered in the 'cold, slimy goo' and felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but soon got used to it. Minato dressed him in his trunks and admitted that he looked a bit funny with the ointment which had solidified and looked like plastic.
"Okay, that wasn't so bad was it?" Minato asked Naruto who was still freezing and looked longingly at the pool with the warm water.
"Can we go down into the water now?" Naruto asked, looking at Minato with a pout which was so adorable that Minato hugged his son, who squeaked but giggled.
"Yes, we can," answered Minato and stood up with Naruto in his arms.
"You'll need to be careful in there," Tsunade warned both Minato and Naruto as they looked at her with identical expressions on their faces; raised eyebrows, wide eyes, questioning looks and slightly parted lips. "This will be like going swimming with a little child for the first time, so Minato, when you first get in the pool, make sure that Naruto's face is close to yours and that you have eye contact the whole time. He has to feel secure and make sure that he can trust you no matter what, okay? You also have to hold him close to your body as well. As you both relax and feel more confident you can extend your arms and swish around a little and after that, when Naruto's a bit more secure with the water, lay him on his back with his head resting on your shoulder, so that his body is lying between your body and arm, but make sure that his head is above the surface. Then encourage him to kick his legs."
That was a long description, better get going at once, Minato thought and smiled a bit. He jumped down in the pool with Naruto in his arms as Tsunade sat down on a chair close to the edge of the pool.
The pool was in an oval shape and was fairly large. It was pretty long and wide. It had a shallow end which started at two decimetres and ended at one meter. The deep end started at one meter and went over four metres at its deepest point.
"Put him down in the water, but you have to stay on the shallow side of the pool so that the risk of Naruto getting his head under water is slimmer," Tsunade instructed, making sure that everything looked okay.
Minato did was he was told and sat down with Naruto in his arms. He was sitting on his knees and Naruto's feet barely touched the water's surface.
"It's really warm," Naruto said when Minato put him down so that he was sitting on the bottom with his back against Minato and Minato's hands under his arms.
"You should be glad that it isn't cold then, or it wouldn't be so nice, now would it?" Minato said with a smile and Naruto who had held his arms over the surface the while time, and then putting them down in the water with an identical smile to Minato's.
"Yeah!" he said and began splashing a little in a childish way while Minato, not Tsunade, couldn't help but laugh.
This Naruto was something else. He wasn't like the Naruto Tsunade had gotten to know. But . . . this Naruto didn't know about Kyūbi and maybe that's why everything seems to be so peaceful around the boy's personality.
"Ne, otousan?" Naruto suddenly asked causing both Tsunade and Minato to look at the little chibi. "I was wondering something . . ."
"What is it son?" Minato asked and even though he was more used to Naruto calling him otousan, he still felt that joyful spark inside of him.
"Could you tell me about kaasan? You haven't said anything about her and I'm curious," Naruto asked as Minato stiffened for a moment, but grinned at the memories of his wife.
"Well . . . what do you want to know about her? There's a lot to tell," Minato answered as he sat down himself, but in deeper water so that he was facing Naruto instead.
"What she was like and . . . did she love me?" Naruto asked as Minato sighed. Of course she had loved him. "Maybe you can tell me how you met?"
Minato looked at Naruto's sparkling eyes that were just pleading for an answer, as Minato thought for awhile. "I guess I could do that," he finally said in a quiet voice.
That morning, when the sun rose its tired, drooping head, it yawned a yawn so wide that it swallowed the world in sunlight. It shone on every surface, kissing trees on the hands and wrapping itself around trunks and branches. With its embrace, the sun brought out a green in the trees even the grasses scowled upon in envy.
The shade was hardly to be found, and when it was, it served as a cool dip out of the sun, which breathed upon the skin and warmed one to a shivering point. The wind brushed warm fingers over one's face and through one's hair, whispering a beautiful day, a beautiful world, and secrets of love unknown to all but those who will listen; secrets so unheard of that one would sit in the wind with one's hands cupped to one's ears.
Minato Namikaze was looking out the window, amazed by the beautiful city stretching across the Earth. He was sitting in a chair in his apartment that was located at the Eastern side of Konoha so he might watch the sunset now and then. It was something that he truly appreciated in his life; the beautiful world around him: The world he lived in and was, as most people are, a vital part of.
He watched with a soft interest as clouds skirted the sky, sweeping by smoothly, but lying down like sleeping women. They crawled towards the setting sun like water down an open drain.
How many people, Minato thought, touching longing fingers to the glass of the window, have looked upon these exact clouds; these clouds that carry themselves over us all? Just how many people share with me this moment as we all raise our heads to the setting sun?
And as Minato thought, the sun responded with a gift of beauty for his divine inquiry. It let loose blazing pink beasts that trotted through the sky and played about the horizon. The sun's soft, blinding locks of hair deepened to oranges and pinks and encircled her face, blown wild by the wind of her land. The sun smiled a tandrid-orange smile to the world, and Minato smiled back. How grateful he was to the sun and her smiling face and prancing beasts. How generous she was to blow her soft kisses to him when she had so little to spare; how strongly this was reflected in the eyes of those who do not know how to smile.
What a world I live in, Minato thought again, to be able to embrace the sun as my sister and to receive her lasting departures.
A knock interrupted his thoughts as he looked over towards the door, but not until he heard another knock did he decide to answer it. He rose from his seat and went over to the door, and when he opened it, he came tofindan ANBU standing before him with his arms behind his back.
The light in Minato's apartment was pretty dull, so at first, he could not seethe ANBU's face clearly; but when Minato opened the door, the sunlight streamed in, and he wasclearly seen at last.
He immediately reminded Minato of bamboo. Though his muscles were clearly seen, as he wore the usual sleeveless shirt, he was thin and bony in many places. He looked as if he would bend in a strong wind and float like a twig in a river current.
His hair matched his body structure; a stringy bunch pulled back in a ponytail with the same circumference of Minato's thumb. And, on the subject, his fingers were like pencils with marble-like knuckles protruding so obviously it was similar to that of a nose on a face. Minato smiled at the man's scrawniness—it reminded him entirely of how small he had been; but that was long ago . . .
"Good morning, Minato-kun," the ANBU said as Minato nodded at the man.
"Good morning to you, too," Minato answered and opened the door a bit more so that the ANBU mightenter.
The ANBU nodded a thank you and entered Minato's apartment soundlessly. The room in which they stood was not lavishly decorated; it was rather simple with a few things here and there and actually . . . only what wouldseem to be the most necessary things were present: A bed, several chairs, a table and a television.
The ANBU was standing in the middle of the living room while Minato leant against the doorframe; he was looking at the ANBU with a light frown, wondering why he had come. The ANBU was wearing the special chest armor thatall ANBUs had to wear, along with the reinforcing arm guards and the normal animal mask to help shield the ANBU's identity.
"The Sandaime has sent me to assign you a mission," said the ANBU quite formally.
"Why didn't the Sandaime just send for me? Normally he assigns the missions himself," Minato askedas the ANBU nodded in agreement.
"That's true, but things are different this time. It would take too much time for you to even go to the Hokage tower," the ANBU explained. This worried Minato. "So," the ANBU continued, "I'm here to give you your next mission at once. It's an A-ranked mission and you have three weeks to finish it. Hopefully, it won't take you that long."
"What is the mission then?" Minato asked, still feeling a bit confused about the whole change. Why did the Sandaime send the ANBU to his house and not call for him? It was so unlike him that it had Minato to the point of bafflement.
"You're going to help the villagers in the Village Hidden in the Forest," the ANBU said as Minato frowned again, accounting on the fact that he had never heard of such a village. "The Village is located in the Whirlpool Country which isn't very well known to most," the ANBU went on as an answer to Minato's unsaid thoughts. "There are only three villages in the Whirlpool Country, and they are: the Village Hidden in the Forest, the Village Hidden under the Moon, and the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools."
"The Village Hidden in the Whirlpools?" Minato echoed;the ANBU nodding in response.
"Yeah, it's the smallest one, but the shinobi there really know what they're doing when they're on missions," the ANBU answered. It was Minato's turn to nod.
"When do I have to leave?" Minato asked as he looked at the ANBU.
"As soon as possible would be best," the ANBU said. As if to show his agreement,Minato went to his wardrobe and took out his Flak jacket and put it on.
It had front scroll patches on the right and the left breast and a zipper up the middle. The back also bore the red swirl insignia.
"You still haven't told me what the mission is about," Minato saidas he lifted up his hitai-ate from a bureau.
"As you know, there has been natural catastrophes here in Fire Country, and it seems like something similar has happened in the Whirlpool Country as well, and it hit them harder than us, so, they need as many shinobi as possible to help them rebuild their villages."
"But why only three weeks?" Minato asked as he tied his hitai-ate on.
"Because you're needed here as well and the shinobi that are already there to help are only there a month and after that they're replaced by new shinobi from either another village or the same one," the ANBU explained,"Since you're a very skilled Jounin, your help is needed here as well."
"I understand," Minato said as the ANBU nodded and tossed Minato something.
Minato caught it and looked down at his hand. It was a scroll.
"It's a map so that youwill easily find the Village Hidden in the Forest," the ANBU told Minato as he nodded a thank you. "I must go.Good day," the ANBU said, bowing, and then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Minato looked at the scroll and then opened it. It was a map of the Five great Countries. His eyes instinctively turned to the Fire Country. Bordering its North Western regions were the Villages Hidden in the Waterfall, Grass, and Rain. Minato had been on so many missions that he remembered the three villages clearly.
Along the three villages, was the Earth Country, and separated by a strip of other, lesser countries, was the Wind Country. With all sun and not a cloud to be seen, Minato never enjoyed the Wind Country much. But the Water Country, across the sea and directly to the East of the Fire Country, was most certainly a place Minato enjoyed, along with the Lightning Country just above the Water Country.
Tapping the paper impatiently, Minato scanned again and again for the Whirlpool country, but found nothing. It must be small . . . It must be out of the way . . .
Minato finally found the Whirlpool Country and noticed that it would take him some time to get there, so the ANBU was right. The sooner he left the better.