Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
Chapter 28.
The day was full of sadness and despair during the aftermath of the battles with Sound and Sand. A lot of people had died during the fight. Many ninja had died protecting the village. And that included the Third Hokage. He had been killed, or more than less, he sacrificed himself to cause a lot of harm to Orochimaru. It was only the day after the horrible battle when everyone attended the Funeral of the Hokage. Minus Gaara and his siblings, that is. The three of them were in the hospital, being guarded by an ANBU. Not a lot of people were happy that the two Sand Ninja were staying in the village after what they had done.
A few wanted to have them killed immediately but Jiraiya immediately intervened and warned everyone that he would not allow them to touch the siblings. Not everyone believed him and figured that they could take him if they gained up on him in large numbers. That is until Kakashi, Gai and even, shockingly, Ibiki and Anko stood in their way, glaring at those who meant Gaara, Temari and Kankuro harm.
"Go near the sand kids and I will remind you why I'm in charge of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture Squad." Ibiki growled at any ninja who dared to defy Jiraiya. No one dared after that.
Things were not going very well for Gaara though. It had been nearly a week now since he fought Naruto and he still had not woken up from his sleep. He had had many visitors of course. Naruto definitely being one of the first. When he found out that Gaara was still in the hospital, he immediately went to see him, only to discover that Gaara was now in a coma. The nurses had tried everything to wake him up but it wasn't working at all. Eventually, Ibiki had a go at him, trying to get inside his head. The only results that came out of it were him hitting a powerful barrier around Gaara's mind. It was then concluded as Shukaku being the one responsible for the coma.
"That damn demon is keeping him asleep." Ibiki growled as he informed Jiraiya, Kakashi and the nurses. "It seems to me he's not happy with the outcome of the fight with the Uzumaki boy and he's taking his rage out on his host."
Jiraiya was a little worried about that but he knew that whatever was said wouldn't be any help. There was only one person he could think of that might be able to help him though. And after having a talk with some of the elders about him becoming the new Hokage and him refusing, he knew that there was only one person who could be a help. "Looks like I don't really have a choice." He stated, catching everyone's attention. "I've got to go out and find Tsunade. She's the only one who might know how to help Gaara come out of his coma. Plus she can take care of anyone else who's hurt. She's the only chance he has to coming out of it."
Kakashi glanced down at the sleeping red head before he nodded. "Then we have to find her." He looked at Jiraiya. "You're taking Naruto with you, aren't you?" He asked. Jiraiya looked back at him before nodding. He figured it was better if he did take the blonde brat. He needed more training and it was more than likely that the Akatsuki were going to come here looking for him. "Yeah. Might as well. If the Akatsuki get a hold of him, he's a lot of trouble." He then looked at Gaara with concern. "But….it kills me to have to leave Gaara here. The Akatsuki knows he's here now because of that little rat, Tobi. Temari and Kankuro's teammate. There's no doubt that they're coming for him. I wish I could just take him with me but it's too risky." He stated.
Gai clapped him on the shoulder as he glanced down at the red head. "He'll be fine here, Master Jiraiya. We'll all watch over him. Besides, those two Sand Ninja refuse to leave his side. We only had to shove them out the door to see Gaara." He said glancing over the door, fully aware that the two siblings were pacing back and forth outside it.
Jiraiya just smiled faintly as he glanced over and saw the silhouettes of the two. He was just happy that Gaara's remaining family were very concerned about him. "They'll be all right with him. Just watch out for them too. I'm a little worried about those two. I know for a fact that they just want to take Gaara and run. They want to run and hide from the Akatsuki. They are scared to death for him." He looked at Kakashi. "You might have to keep an eye on them. They might do it too." He told him. Kakashi shook his head as he glanced side wards at the door, seeing that the siblings have stopped pacing. It was more than likely they could hear them talking to each other. "They have nothing to worry about. With their help, we can keep Gaara safe. Just find Tsunade and bring her back for everyone's sakes." He said to the white haired Sanin.
Jiraiya only nodded as he went over to Gaara's bed side and looked down at him with concern. He reached down and ran his fingers through the Genin's red hair. "Don't worry, Gaara. I'll be back as soon as possible. Before those Akatsuki fools can even get here."
Gaara was very confused of his surroundings. He had woken up in the dark desert again and all alone. There was just dark sand all around him and nothing else. He knew he must have been in his subconscious again. But it didn't seem like Shukaku had gain control over him. In fact, he could sense the demon somewhere close by. So with a frown, he wandered the dark desert, trying to find a loop hole in his subconscious. He needed to wake up. It seemed like he had been wandering for days on end while trying to find a way out of his own mind. It was only when he decided to sit down and meditate on his thoughts when he felt Shukaku's presence appear near him. He opened his eyes and looked up to see the demon hovering over him with a grin. It was a rather sadistic grin, something that made Gaara feel uneasy. He knew when the demon grinned liked that, it wasn't a good thing.
"What are you so happy about?" The red head asked dryly.
Shukaku just grinned at him as he curled his large tail around his large feet and dipped his head down lower. 'Oh nothing, really. Just that I've got you stuck in your own head and you won't ever wake up unless I let you.' He chuckled savagely.
Gaara gave the demon a very nasty look before he stood up and folded his arms over his chest. He was sick and tired of playing these stupid games with the demon. He shouldn't even have to. This was his body and he should be in charge of his own life. Naruto had had a point when they had fought each other. He was letting the demon rule his life and he was getting kicked around. "You will let me wake up them. Because this is my body and I will not let you rule it anymore."
'I'll let you wake up when I'm good and ready!' Shukaku growled at him, his eyes starting to glow savagely. 'And I won't be letting you wake up until we come to an agreement.'
Gaara frowned at him with annoyance but he was curious about what the demon was talking about. So instead of arguing, he just tilted his head to the side. "Agreement? What sort of agreement?" He asked suspiciously.
The demon only grinned at him in a savage way before he dipped his head lower so that he was looking Gaara right in the eye. 'An agreement about who gets to be in control of this body from now on.' He said dryly.
The young red head started to glare at him. He couldn't believe this demon. Shukaku was playing the same game. Even after he had won the battle between them. It was time to put his foot down. He was done playing this game with him. With his arms folded over his chest, he lift his head and gave his answer.
"What?!" Naruto gasped as soon as the words were out of Sakura's mouth. It had only been a few hours since he returned with Jiraiya from bringing the new Fifth Hokage, Tsunade back and had gone to see Sasuke to see how he was doing, only to hear something that he didn't want to from his pink haired crush. It had been nearly a month since he had left with Jiraiya on the mission to find Tsunade, whom was the world's best Medic and one of the Three Legendary Ninja. They had had a run in with the Akatsuki for the first time. It had been Itachi Uchiha and a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame Hoshigaki. They had been after Naruto but due to the fact that he was with Jiraiya, it was hard to kidnap him. Even Sasuke had run off to save Naruto, only to get into a nasty fight with Itachi and end up losing badly to him. Sasuke had gotten more than a bent out of shape ego but some serious injuries.
After that fight, Jiraiya had sent Sasuke back to the Leaf Village so he could be healed. Then he and Naruto went on their way to find Tsunade.
Oh, they had found her all right but she wasn't exactly the nicest person at first. She had refused to return to the Hidden Leaf Village. She hadn't wanted anything to do with it after an old lover had been killed a long time ago. But somehow, Naruto had gotten through to her. Of course, Tsunade hadn't made up her mind until after a serious fight with Orochimaru, who had been looking for her to make a bargain. The bargain had been for her to heal his arms so that he could use Jutsu again, which was the outcome of his fight with the former Hokage, Saturobi and he would bring her lost lover back to life.
But in the end, Tsunade tried to kill Orochimaru herself and ended up getting hurt pretty bad after protecting Naruto from getting seriously hurt. Everyone came out all right with only bumps and bruises. And now they had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village with Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage.
However, Naruto and Jiraiya had both been expecting to come home to find Gaara up and moving around, not mention Kakashi not being seriously hurt after fighting with Itachi Uchiha. They had found out that Itachi and Kisame had tried to have a go to get at Gaara, but Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai had stopped them in their own way.
So, obviously, the Akatsuki knew that Gaara was alive and who he was. From what Itachi and Kisame revealed to Kakashi and the other Jounin, they were very angry at the deception from Temari. They had even tried to get at her and Kankuro if not for the Leaf Ninja. Temari and Kankuro had panicked at some extent after the run in with the Akatsuki. They remembered what happened that day.
Minor Flashback
Temari and Kankuro had been kicked out of the Hospital after being there for nearly a week without leaving Gaara's side. The nurses had become rather worried about the two Sand Ninja because they hardly left the hospital room. They hardly ever ate or slept, always worried that the Akatsuki would appear at any minute for their little brother. The medical staff members had finally gotten used to them being in the building all of the time. And after getting to know them, they didn't mind them.
In fact all of the villagers in the Konoha Village had finally gotten used to the two Sand Siblings. At first they hadn't liked them being there. But after watching the two interact with the some of the Leaf ninja, and getting along with them just fine, they started to trust the two. If the Heirs of some of the Clans and the young Geniuses could trust Temari and Kankuro, everyone figured that they could. Now, the brother and sister were well known throughout the entire village and of what their village was going through.
The Konoha Villagers didn't know all about the entire situation, seeing that it was only necessary for the Shinobi to know about Suna Village, but they did know that the Desert Village was suffering pretty badly.
Now, Konoha and Suna hadn't had great relationships in the past with one another. They had actually hated one another pretty bad. But that was in the past. Yes, there were some grudges against one another but to hear that the new "Kazekage" was making the people suffer, Konoha didn't like it.
"No right Kage would ever make his people suffer!" One man said savagely as soon as he heard the news.
Many agreed with him and some even started requesting that Konoha went to Suna's aid. Problem was, they couldn't. Not without the orders of the Hokage. And it was actually against the rules to interfere with how another village was being run. Even if the Kage in charge wasn't really the Kage. Not without the blessing of the Village Elders, who were the ones to name the new Kage. Temari and Kankuro had informed their new Leaf Ninja friends that the Suna Elders did not give the "Kazekage" their blessing, no matter how much he threatened the people of the village. So even though he was ruling the village under fear and suffering, he wasn't technically the Kazekage.
Anyway, back to the situation at hand, Temari and Kankuro had been cooped up in the hospital for a week, receiving a few visits from their friends. It was only a matter of time before the nurses kicked them out of the building, demanding that they got some fresh air.
So the siblings went on a walk together, talking silently about what they were going to do after Gaara did wake up.
"I don't know if we should talk him into leave Konoha and go back to Suna, or we could stay here." The blonde Sand Ninja said in a quiet voice. She was worried about what they should do. She knew that they were welcomed to stay in the Village because they were Gaara's siblings. She remembered very well how the people of Konoha reacted when they found out that two Sand Ninja were staying in the village. She remembered when a few had tried to attack her and Kankuro. But if not for the lazy genius, Shikamaru, and the rest of the Leaf Genin, they probably would have made things worst. Shikamaru, unlike many, refused to let anyone hurt her and her brother. It wasn't expected but it did make them feel some relief to know that the Genin didn't hold a grudge against them for what they had done.
Actually, they seemed rather forgiving. It was something that the Sand Ninja would never do but these people were not Sand Ninja.
Kankuro just pulled his pointed ear hood down and ran a hand through his shaggy reddish brown hair. He was still very uneasy about wandering the Leaf Village without a Leaf Ninja around but he was starting to get used to it. "I know, Tem. But let's face it. We can't stay cooped up here forever. Baki needs us. Everyone at home needs us." He sighed as he dropped his hands at his sides. "Maybe once Gaara wakes up from his coma, we can talk to him about the problem. We'll let him decide then."
Temari slowly nodded in agreement. That sounded like a better plan than the one she and Kankuro had come up with. They had planned of just taking Gaara from the hospital and running for it. She knew that the Konoha Ninja might up a fight but it was better facing them than facing the Akatsuki.
Speaking of which…….
Both Temari and Kankuro became very aware that someone was standing in their path. So they looked up to see who it was. They had expected to see Shikamaru or Shino. Or even Sakura, seeing that the pink haired girl was getting along with Temari very well. But it was none of them. In fact, it wasn't even anyone friendly.
It was the Akatsuki members; Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.
The Sand Ninja froze in their tracks like deer being caught by in a light. Their eyes widened with shock and fear, not to mention disbelief. They were trying to decide if what they were seeing was real or not.
"Hello, Temari, Kankuro." Came Itachi's very cool and calm voice.
Temari and Kankuro's bodies nearly turned into ice when they realized that this wasn't just some illusion that they were seeing. It was real. They were actually here. "N-no……" The blonde murmured with terror. "Yo-you're here……"
The giant blue skinned ninja beside the former Leaf Ninja grinned a very sharp toothed grin at them as he dipped his head lower. "That's right, you little punk. And guess what? We're a little pissed at you." He said, his voice rather deep and harsh.
"B-but…..we didn't…..we didn't d-do anything….." Kankuro said, his voice cracking.
Itachi narrowed his dark eyes from under his large rice hat. It was a look that scared the pair of Sand Ninja badly. They had seen it before. It had been when a civilian of Suna had insulted him and he ended up killing them. "We're aware of the Shukaku container's existence, Temari." He said in a low voice, which sent a shiver down the blonde's back. "And we're not exactly happy to learn about it still being alive when we were under the belief that he was dead. You lied to us."
Temari's body began to tremble as she took a step back with Kankuro. Her face was very pale and she had sweat starting to roll down her forehead. She was terrified completely out of her wits. And so was her younger brother. She knew that they were in some serious trouble. They could have fought with these two, but they were fully aware that they would lose the fight if they did. These two were too powerful for them. They were still Genin for a reason, after all. "P-please….we're sor-sorry. But…..can you blame me for wanting to protect our brother?! He's our brother!" She said shakily looking into Itachi's dark eyes with fear.
Itachi didn't say anything for a long moment as he just looked coldly right into her eyes. It was hard to read his expressions. She couldn't tell if he was angry, annoyed or if he even agreed with her. He was like a rock.
Kisame, on the other hand, just reached up and gripped the handle of his large sword he had clipped onto his back. He was grinning savagely at them, which only grew wider when the two Sand Ninja grew paler and backed away in fear. "Sorry, kiddies. We've been ordered to put you two out of your misery if we ever saw you. You're to be severely punished for lying to us." He said before taking a threatening step towards the two. Temari and Kankuro quickly took a step back, looking ready to bolt at any second. The blonde squeaked fearfully, almost ready to start screaming the very minute that Kisame attacked her and Kankuro.
"You two aren't exactly familiar around these parts, aren't you?" came the warm but serious voice of Asuma Saturobi from behind the two Akatsuki members.
Temari and Kankuro both blinked in surprise when they saw the pair of Jounin standing behind the two outlaws. They hadn't even seen them arrive, nor even felt them. Neither did Kisame. He spun around sharply with surprise to look at Asuma and Kurenai. Itachi didn't seem surprised at all as he slowly turned around to face the Leaf Ninja. He was keeping his head lowered a little so that the hat hid his identity from the two. He didn't want to be revealed just yet.
"Mind your own business, Leaf Ninja." Growled Kisame as he tightened his hold on his large sword. "We're punishing a couple of traitors, here."
Asuma just inhaled a large cloud of smoke before taking out his death stick and blowing the smoke out again. His eyes just narrowed a little as he merely glanced at a terrified Temari and Kankuro. He then merely glanced over at Kurenai, whose head dipped down as she gave the two men in red and black robes a very cool look. "Sorry," He began as he looked back at the two. "Those two are under the protection of the Konoha Village. Touch them, and you will be finding some trouble. Don't you think that's about right, Kakashi?"
"That's right, Asuma." Came the collected voice of Kakashi right behind Temari and Kankuro.
Both of the Sand Ninja grew very still when they heard his voice right behind him. They whirled around to see him standing right behind them, hands stuffed into his pockets and eyeing the Akatsuki members dryly. He wasn't looking happy to see these two, but he didn't look surprised either. "Temari, Kankuro, why don't you return to where we're keeping Gaara and stay with him?" He said calmly. Temari slowly nodded before she grabbed Kankuro's arm and started to pull him back the way they had come. They had almost left too if not Itachi suddenly appearing right before them, blocking off their path. But he wasn't the only one. Even Kakashi moved to barricade his path to the siblings. "Sorry. But your fight is with us, Itachi Uchiha." He warned him.
Both Asuma and Kurenai made a sound as if they were surprised to hear about who this Akatsuki was. They hadn't known who one of them were. But Itachi made a sound as if he was amused before he reached up and took his rice hat right off of his head, dropping it to the ground beside him. "We're here for the Tailed Beasts. Hand them over and we won't destroy your village." He said calmly.
"Yet." Added Kisame as he too dropped his rice hat.
Kakashi just gave the rogue Leaf Ninja a dry look before he reached over and lightly pushed Temari and Kankuro forward. At first they pulled back, afraid that he was offering them to Itachi. But he just gave them a reassuring look. "It's all right, you two. He won't dare to attack you with me right here. Just go protect Gaara." He told them softly.
Slowly, Temari and Kankuro took some unsteady steps towards Itachi, who made no move. His eyes were actually only on Kakashi. They swallowed hard before turning a little to go around him. But he never made a move towards them. He just kept his dark eyes on the silver haired Jounin in front of him. Once they passed him, they bolted as fast as they could. They didn't even bother to look back. They just ran. They didn't even look back when they heard explosions of the inevitable fight.
"Itachi! Our mission stated that we were to……." Kisame said frowning as he made a step to go after the siblings.
But immediately, Asuma and Kurenai were blocking his path, both with kunai in their hands and stern looks on their faces. Itachi, however, just dipped his head lower as he smirked dryly right at Kakashi, who reached up for his forehead protector, pushing it upward. "I don't care about the mission right at the second. Nor do I care about those two. We have plenty of time to get the Tailed Beasts. But right now, we need to deal with these three." He stated.
And that was only the last thing Temari and Kankuro had heard. They were too busy running away to listen to the rest. But they found out that there had been a very serious fight between the Akatsuki members and the three Jounin. Kakashi had gotten pretty hurt by Itachi after falling for a very powerful Genjutsu. If it hadn't been for Gai going after them, after the two Sand Siblings returned to the hospital and telling him that they were there, Kakashi would have probably been killed. And after that, Sasuke ran from Konoha to find Naruto and Jiraiya before Itachi and Kisame could get to him. It wasn't too long before he came back, sorely beaten and with a destroyed sense of pain.
During the time of Naruto and Jiraiya's absence, Sakura had gone to visit Gaara a few times. She was a little worried about him, but it wasn't just that. She really wanted to be there when he woke up so she could talk to him about something. But she wouldn't tell anyone about what.
End Flash back
And now that Naruto and Jiraiya had returned with Tsunade, they went to the hospital to see to some of the injured people. Sakura was sitting with Sasuke, trying to keep him entertained but he really was not in a good mood at all. So she told Naruto of what had been going on. And she also told him that Gaara still had not woken up.
Naruto looked at the ground with his teeth tightly clenched and his shoulders shook a little. But he didn't say anything. He really didn't need to. Everyone knew that he was very upset about the situation with Gaara. He was the red head's best friend and he was still very worried about him after their fight. No one really could blame him. Other than Jiraiya, Naruto was practically the only one who was close to Gaara.
From behind him, Tsunade, a rather beautiful, young looking woman with long blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at the ground. She knew he was extremely worried about this Gaara. She remembered what Jiraiya had told her about him. She remembered how he explained how Gaara even came to the Leaf Village from the Sand Village. He didn't really leave anything out so that she would know what to do with him. She knew it was going to be a mess when it was time for Gaara to return to the Sand Village, if he was to return. "Hmm." She then lift her head and glanced over at Naruto with a smile. "Naruto, we're done here. Let's go see to this friend of yours." She said, her voice sounding a little old but still young at the same time.
Naruto looked up with surprise before he smiled grandly and so did Sakura. They both looked a little bright eyed to hear that they were going to go see Gaara next. Grinning, Naruto looked at a moody Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke! We're going to go see Gaara now! We'll be back later!" He said brightly before quickly following after Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Sasuke didn't say anything. He just stared out the window, with a very mood look on his face. Sakura tried to smile at him but it faded as soon as she realized that he wasn't going to wish them well. So with a deep breath, she quickly followed after Naruto.
In Gaara's room, Temari was fixing the young red head's blanket, making sure it was pulled up to his chin and then fluffed his pillow. She had such a sad look on her face. She was extremely worried about him. It had almost been a month since Gaara and Naruto's fight and he hadn't even stirred. Not to mention, she had overheard that the Leaf Village's elders already complaining about him, stating that they should just end this coma by killing him. They really hadn't even known that Gaara was the One Tailed Beast carrier and had been furious that the former Hokage hadn't told them about him. He hadn't even said a word to them. Of course, Ibiki and Anko were defending Gaara from the Elders' verbal attacks. They even placed more guards around his room to make sure that one of the elders didn't send any assassins to kill him.
Sitting on the other side of the room, Kankuro was trying to concentrate on working on his new puppet but his thoughts were so distracted that he couldn't finish it just yet. He was almost done with it, if only he could. He glanced up at a sighing for the millionth time Temari before putting down the puppet and growling. "Geez! I bet if we just take Gaara back to Suna and go see Chiyo, we can get Gaara to wake up!" he grumbled.
The blonde Sand Ninja glanced over at him before shaking her head and brushing Gaara's bangs out of his face. "Kankuro, we can't go back just yet. Not without Gaara being awake." She frowned as she looked at him as he grumbled. "Do you really think we can take the Akatsuki on our own with him asleep? They will kill us before we even had a chance." She told him sternly.
"Bah!" Kankuro grumbled but didn't say anymore because he knew that she was right. There was no way that they could fight the Akatsuki and survive it at all.
Before anything else could be said, the door was pushed open and Naruto came bounding into the room with Sakura right after him and three people following after them. One was Gai, of course. He had been guarding the door, after all. But with him was the Sanin, Jiraiya and a rather busty blonde woman. She was not a familiar person to the siblings at all, which was why they grew tense and quickly moved over to block the woman's path to Gaara.
"Temari, Kankuro, it's all right." Jiraiya said smiling at the two as he folded his arms over his chest. "This is Tsunade. She's the new Hokage and a very extraordinary medic. She's here to help him."
The woman, Tsunade didn't look offended at all to the two siblings' reaction. She actually expected them to over react like that. These two were Gaara's brother and sister, after all. Of course they would want to protect him from any unfamiliar faces. She just smiled a little when Temari and Kankuro relaxed a little and moved out of her way.
All eyes turned onto Naruto as he slammed himself into the chair beside Gaara's bed and grinned at the slumbering red head. "Hey! Gaara! We've brought Granny Tsunade! She's the lady who's going to help you! So wake up already, you lazy ass!" He said rather loudly but in a joking manner.
"Naruto!" Sakura snapped before clubbing him over the head with her fist. "Don't yell like that in here! It's not like he can hear you!"
Everyone just smiled as they watched Naruto rub the knob on the back of his head with a groan. Tsunade, however, just went right over to Gaara's bedside and began looking him over. "Actually, a coma patient sometimes can hear people talking to them. Sometimes it helps them wake up faster." She told the pink haired girl, who looked surprised by the revelation.
Naruto just grinned as he stood up quickly and practically jumped on the bed, bouncing a little. "Yeah! I knew that! Gaara, wake up now!! I miss you, buddy!" He bellowed only to get slapped over the head by Temari this time. He went sailing to the ground with a loud thud. "Ow."
"You don't need to yell, Naruto. I'm sure he can hear you just fine." Kankuro said now rubbing his ear where he'd been somewhat deafened by the loud-mouthed blonde.
Tsunade just shook her head with a faint smile before she pulled back the blanket to Gaara's waist. She looked him over for a moment before lowering her head to his chest and listened carefully to his heart beat. She had to hold up a hand to tell Naruto not to say anything when he opened his mouth to remark something back at Kankuro. It was to her satisfaction that Jiraiya grabbed him and clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. All eyes were on the blonde woman though as she listened to Gaara's heartbeat. After a moment, she lift her head and checked his pulse. She seemed satisfied for she nodded. Then she lift his eye lids and looked at his pupils, which retracted a little. She practically did a physical examination on him before she placed a hand onto his forehead and closed her eyes.
It was quiet for a very long time as everyone just stared at her or Gaara. No one dared to say anything, afraid that if they did something would go wrong. Naruto was even keeping quiet, though it was probably because Jiraiya's hand was still over his mouth.
After a moment, Tsunade opened her eyes and pulled her hand away with a deep frown on her face. She didn't seem so satisfied anymore. She actually seemed annoyed. "It's just as you told me, Jiraiya. The demon spirit inside of this boy is blocking his entire mind. It's keeping him asleep. But he can still hear us, or at least he should." She looked at the white haired Sanin with a frown. "There is nothing I can do right now for him. It's all up to Gaara if he wants to wake up again. He has to battle the demon through his mind and gain control again. Gaara has to learn that he has control over the demon, not the other way around. He'll soon learn if he remembers Ibiki's training with him. But now, it's just up to him." She told all of them.
Naruto peeled Jiraiya's hand off of his mouth and stared at his best friend with worry. "So, so, so, Gaara has to force himself to wake up then?" he asked.
Tsunade looked at him but then nodded. "In a way. He can wake up when he realizes that this is his body and not the demons. He is in charge of it. It's not in charge of him. But otherwise," She smiled around at everyone. "He's perfectly fine. His body is in good shape. He seems healthy. And if my opinion really mattered anyway, the sleep could do this kid some good. After spending most of his life sleeping only once a month, he could do with some rest." She said eyeing Gaara's dark ringed eyes.
"So…..we can just talk to him and he'll hear us?" Sakura asked, curiously.
Tsunade just nodded to the young pink haired girl before she turned to Gai when he placed his hand onto her shoulder before quickly redrawing it. It didn't bother the blonde woman though. She just looked somewhat curious of what he wanted. Looking at the ground, the bowl cut Jounin bit his bottom lip before looking into her eyes again. "Lady Tsunade, will you please come see to my student next?" he asked almost pleading.
"Sure. Lead the way." The new Hokage said now following him towards the door to leave the young Genin in the room with her patient. Jiraiya stood in front of Gaara's bed, looking down at him with a forlorn look. But then he turned and walked right out of the room.
There was a very long silence in the room as Naruto, Sakura, Temari and Kankuro looked at one another. They weren't sure what to do or what to say to one another. But then Sakura decided to go over to Gaara's bedside and pulled the blanket back to his chest, while looking down at him. "I hope Gaara wakes up soon." She said before reaching over and ruffling his blood red hair with a smile.
"Hey, Sakura." Temari said tilting her head to the side and placing her hands onto her waist. "Aren't you still mad at him for slamming you into that tree a month ago?"
Sakura bit her lip as she glanced over at the blonde but then she smiled and shook her head as she looked back at him. "No. I'm actually glad he did that." She got very wide eyed looks from everyone in the room. They were all looking at her as if she was crazy or ill. She shrugged at their reactions. "It hurt, yeah. But…..it made me remember something that I forgot about a long time ago." She told them.
"Huh? What was that?" Kankuro asked, frowning.
Sakura just smiled before she turned around and held up a finger to her mouth as if telling them to be quiet. "It's a secret between me and Gaara. So I'm not telling you." She told them and started laughing when Naruto pouted while the siblings gave her a dull look.
"What the hell?!" Tsunade suddenly blurted out while she was examining Rock Lee. She was completely surprised by what she had found from her examination. She had been looking the young teen over for a good solid minute. When she arrived, Gai and a nurse had explained to her what Rock Lee's situation was. She hadn't liked the sound of it at all. She knew just by his symptoms that it was serious. So when she began a physical examination on him, looking him over, she had been prepared to give the two ninja terrible news.
But that was before she actually took a look at his bones, using her Chakra. Now she was just staring at his back, leg and arm with wide eyes. She couldn't even believe what she was seeing.
Lee was trembling a little, knowing it was pretty bad news if she was going to say it like that. He knew it must have been bad. He could already feel the sting in his eyes as if he was going to cry any moment. Gai saw him trembling and looked like he was about to break down any moment. With a shaky sigh, he lowered his head. "How bad is it, Lady Tsunade? Is there any way you can fix it?" he asked quietly.
Tsunade didn't say anything for a long moment as she did a double take of what she was looking at. She pushed her Chakra into Lee's arm, looking at the bones very closely at all of the cracks and breaks in them before pulling back, alarmed again. She was quiet for a moment before she shook her head and pulled her Chakra out of Lee completely. "I'm sorry, Lee, that this has happened to you. I must say that when your arm and leg was crushed, it was serious to say that you would never be a Ninja again." She paused when she heard a trembling sigh escape from the Taijutsu specialist. "If it wasn't for your treatment, you wouldn't even be able to return as a ninja. It's a little unorthodox and not something that I would have done, but still, it's put you somewhere."
Both Gai and Lee froze when they heard that. They weren't sure if they heard her right. Did she just say treatment? And did that mean that he was a ninja again? Both looked at Tsunade with wide eyes of alarm. "Treatment, ma-am?" Lee asked curiously, yet surprised.
Tsunade nodded as she reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yes. Your treatment……" Then she paused to see how confused the two were looking at the moment. She frowned deeply before she dropped her hands to her sides. "Lee, have you even received any treatment since the day of your injuries?"
Lee and Gai looked at one another before shaking their heads at the same time. They weren't sure where the new Hokage was going with this but it was clear that they were confused. "No. I don't think so. The medics had splinted my arm and leg and tried healing them but they couldn't do anything with the cracks and breaks." Lee told her.
"So you are unaware that there are rocks in your bones?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.
Both Lee and Gai looked wide eyed at her, completely stunned by what she just said. They had not been expecting that at all. More than less, that there were rocks in Lee's bones. "Rocks?!" Lee yelped in alarm.
"What do you mean that there are rocks in Lee's bones?" Gai asked just as alarmed.
Tsunade stared right back at them in disbelief. But then she sighed as she rubbed her nose again. "So you've received unauthorized treatment in restoring your bones. Great. I'm going to have a helluva time lecturing someone about this. But then again," She dropped her hand looking somewhat sly about the situation. "The unauthorized treatment you went through, Lee, has saved your career. Someone has caked sand into the cracks of your bones, packing it in tight and hardened it. Not only has your bones been fixed, but someone has made them as hard as rocks. With Chakra administration sessions, we can harden the sand and make it even stronger. Therefore, your bones will be as hard as rock." She smiled when Lee's eyes brightened. "Congratulations, Lee. Within a month, you will be returning to full duty as Shinobi."
Lee's face brightened and he felt his smile curl onto his face. But Gai was still a little surprised by the whole ordeal. He took the entire information into thought before his eyes widened in disbelief. "Sand…..someone put sand….." He lowered his head and closed his eyes, which began to fill with tears. He slowly smiled as he reopened his eyes to watch a very excited Lee. "Thank you……Gaara."
