What's up!? Thanks to everyone who gave their feedback last chapter. I think I replied to all of you but if I missed you, my bad.
Haha…guess what!? I actually did some planning for this chapter rather than just sitting down and typing. I made like a little outline, but we'll see how closely I choose to follow it.
I know I'm a bit late on the update, but it's lengthy; longer than any previous chapter, I think. Hopefully you won't find it too cumbersome to read…I'll honestly say that it's not very exciting (
Alright, well, I'll spare you any more of my nonsense and get on to the real reason why you're here… chapter 35!
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He was okay. He was all right.
Her cheek resting gently on her hand, Suki smiled down at Naruto from his bedside. She couldn't help it. He was okay. He was alive and well, sleeping soundly right here in front of her, most likely dreaming about one of two things: being Hokage or eating ramen.
Akiko watched Suki with a smile of her own. She was standing at the window, with the mellow rays of the sun leaking in and unfolding her small frame into a shadow that reached the opposite wall. Naruto had been sleeping ever since his miraculous revival, and she hadn't left his side. Suki left for a little while to pick up some things from back at Naruto's house. Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura all needed a break, but they had agreed to takes turns checking up on him.
It was Sakura who broke the comfortable silence when she entered the room and said a quick hello to them. The first place her hand went was his forehead, and he seemed to stir at her soft touch. Her glowing hands examined his body like they always did, and she laid her head to his chest, checking his heartbeat and breathing. She concluded that everything was fine, but instead of leaving, she stayed in the room and had a seat on the floor against the wall. She still looked pretty tired; she had worked very hard to keep Naruto alive for a day and a half with very little sleep.
"Thank you Sakura-san," said Suki, looking over at her gratefully, "you saved his life."
Sakura gave her response with a cheerful smile.
"Naruto is strong; he pulled through. Even if we knew all the medical jutsu in the world, we can't give someone the will to stay alive. And in this case, that's what made the difference."
"Still, if it wasn't for you, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune-sempai, then he might not have made it," said Suki.
Getting to her feet and standing at the foot of Naruto's bed, Sakura gave a sigh at her sleeping comrade.
"I guess I can't really say 'well, it's just my job' this time. Naruto is a friend to all of us, and we all put our greatest effort into it. He's saved me so many times, and in more ways than one. I was just glad I got to do something for him for a change. That idiot makes it so hard for other people to even get the chance to help him…"
That's why Sakura had been so worried for the past three years. That boy never really gave any actual thought to his actions; he followed his heart and his instinct without delay and without realization of the possible consequences. But it looked like he had found some good friends to look after him in these two girls who were now hovering at his bed.
Suki read into Sakura's expression. She remembered so many stories that Naruto had told about this pink-haired girl, and he used to go on and on about how great she was. A small, disheartening smile forced its way to her lips, and she looked back down to her sleeping team mate, leader, and friend.
"You're really an amazing person, Sakura-san," she said, her voice hardly above a whisper.
Sakura grew bashful at the compliment, and she scratched the top of her head humbly: a mirror image of Naruto.
"I-I'm not all that great," she said, "remember, you had an important part in it, too, Suki-san. Your jutsu really helped us."
The blonde girl remained silent and Akiko said nothing.
It wasn't long until Sasuke joined them in the room, and it got just a little crowded when Shizune came. A small conversation sparked. Shizune and Sakura told the others about the steps they had gone through to save Naruto and the injuries that he had sustained. They were in the middle of explaining a very complicated medical procedure when the sleeping boy began to stretch, and they all looked at him as his blue eyes slowly brought him back into the light of the world.
"Naruto!" many voices exclaimed.
"Welcome back!"
"How do you feel?"
He stared back at all the people in the room who were awaiting his reply. He asked a question of his own.
"How long has it been?"
"It's been about three days since Jiraiya-sama found you," answered Akiko.
"How do you feel?"
"Do you feel pain anywhere?"
Shizune and Sakura pestered him with questions again. How did he feel? There was only one thing he was feeling right now…
"Oi, Suki," he called, looking at her with hopeful eagerness.
She smiled, reached into the box of things she had brought, and unwrapped the package of noodles. She put it in a bowl, added water, and had Sasuke heat it up. The others were surprised that she had already gotten these things ready before Naruto had even woken up.
"Here," was all she said when she handed it to Naruto.
He hadn't eaten for three days. Knowing him, the only thing he was thinking about right now was food. Suki had come prepared.
Naruto sniggered as he took the bowl from her.
"I don't know what I'd do without you," he said gleefully.
"That's right," she said back, "you need me!"
"Eh?" came Naruto, his mouth already full of noodles, "I was talking to the ramen."
Suki's sense of pride dwindled.
"Tch. Baka…"
The room fell to an amusing silence, but then the two doctors of the room came at him with questions again.
"I'm fine," he told them, "my body just feels a little heavy and slow, but that's about it."
They were all talking to him while he ate, and he tried his best to absorb what they were saying while cherishing the ramen that had been so readily provided for him. They were all talking about how the fight had gone down, and Akiko told Naruto about how she had defeated Hidan.
"You should have seen it, Maki-san," she said, "I got the idea from watching you all the time."
Naruto just nodded and slurped. Mostly everything that was being said to him wasn't quite reaching his brain. They eventually realized that he wasn't really paying attention they conversed amongst themselves while he satisfied three days worth of hunger. Sasuke was standing in the corner, watching Naruto like he wanted to talk in person. They would get their chance.
After the entire box Suki brought was cleared out, Naruto sat rubbing his belly in delight. What a great meal it had been. He proceeded to find his way into the many conversations that were taking place around the room.
Suki, Akiko, Sakura, and Sasuke never left, but Naruto attracted several sets of visitors throughout the day. Shikamaru, Lee, and Kiba's teams dropped by when they could, and Naruto's three senseis: Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Iruka had all come, but at separate times. They had seemed quite interested in Naruto's fight with this Paine character.
There had been a few unexpected arrivals, like Kurenai, Anko, and another handful of jounin that Naruto didn't know. They told Naruto that this was a good chance for him to get acquainted with his fellow jounin.
Temari and Kankuro stopped by to say goodbye before reporting back to Gaara.
After a while, the excitement died down, and it was only the regular four people in the room with him. At long last, Tsunade came in. The Hokage told everyone else that she had to speak to Naruto privately.
"Feeling better, kid?" she asked when the others had left.
"Well, seeing as how I'm not dying anymore, yeah, I'm fine," he laughed.
She tossed his clothes to him.
"They were all bloody and full of holes, so I had them cleaned and mended for you."
"Thanks."
"And I believe these are yours too," she said, holding up the two necklaces that he treasured so much.
She watched as Nartuo secured them around his neck.
"Thanks for taking care of me, Old Lady," he said.
Her small smile shined for him.
"We were worried about you, kid. You gave us quite a scare. Sakura told me you were feeling fine, but you're still in pain, right?"
She knew. Of course she did; she was like the greatest medical ninja in the world. Holding up a cup of green liquid, she said, "This should help."
He took it and drank, wincing at the taste. She laughed as his mouth twisted at the bitterness, and he scowled at her for doing so.
But her expression turned grave; this wasn't the main reason she had come here. It was about time to break the news to him. She wasn't sure how he'd take it.
"Listen, Naruto. Your injuries were pretty bad: worse than Lee's were after he fought Gaara."
Naruto wasn't looking at her anymore, he was staring at the floor. Had he been expecting this?
"Even I can't heal everything. We repaired you, but you're body will never be the same. You'll get injured easier. You'll get tired faster. You have limitations now. Naruto, I don't think being a ninja is an option for you anymore."
She looked at him with empathy. His face remained hidden and his eyes were on the floor, but he looked up at her when he spoke. If he was upset and sad, he certainly wasn't showing it and his expression was normal. His voice was confident and commanding.
"Granny Hokage, you might be the most knowledgeable person about medical stuff, but I think this time you're wrong."
Tsunade just stared at him. Should she tell him how badly his nervous system was damaged? Should she tell him how his bones were literally in pieces? She knew he could feel it in his arm and throughout his entire body.
"Just give me some time. I'll be back out there kicking bad guy ass soon enough."
Then, she spotted that flicker in his eyes that he always got. She had seen it when they first met. Nothing was going to stop him. Nothing was going to keep him from fulfilling his dream. When the odds were stacked against him, that's when he fought the hardest.
"Believe me, I don't take joy in telling you this, but don't give yourself any false hope, kid. You'll just end up disappointing yourself."
The determination only burned brighter in his eyes.
"I can't accept that. And as soon as I give up, it's all over. Old Lady…when I was fighting Paine, I already knew after a minute or two that he was way out of my league. I'd never felt that way before; even I doubted my chances of winning. Nothing I did worked. But you know what? I didn't give up. The thought of it never even crossed my mind. I kept fighting, no matter what. I decided that I was either going to beat him, or I was going to die. Getting captured wasn't an option."
He continued and Tsunade just listened.
"I beat him. And there I was, laying face first in the mud, miserable. I couldn't move, and my body hurt all over. I don't know much about medicine, but I'm pretty sure I should have been dead. The pain was unbearable. To tell you the truth, I was scared. Not really afraid to die, but…I was just afraid. I could have stopped it. I could have given in. But here I am, right here in front of you. Look, I know you're the best, Old Lady, but don't think I'm just going to sit here and listen to someone tell me what I can and can't do. I have to keep going forward: never accepting defeat."
She just smiled. This boy…sometimes he just had a way with words that was impossible to refuse.
"Fine," she said, giving in, "do what you want. I'll…see what I can do to help."
His triumphant face beamed, and Tsunade sighed before leaving. But Naruto caught her as she left.
"Oi, Granny Hokage."
"What is it, Naruto?"
"Don't tell anyone that I was scared, especially Sasuke."
"Heh…I won't. Now, as your doctor, I'm ordering you to go outside and get some fresh air. It'll do you good. I have to get back to doing my official Hokage business," she said, trying to sound important.
"More paperwork?" asked Naruto.
"Shut up."
He followed her out and bid her farewell, and he turned to where his four friends had been waiting. But he looked specifically at Sasuke.
"Sasuke…"
"Yeah?"
"Old Lady Tsunade said that fresh air would do me some good. You want to come along with me?"
"Sure," said Sasuke indifferently as he stood.
The three girls caught his hint and let the two of them go off together. From the hospital, they took a right, heading for the stadium where they had fought in the chuunin exams.
"So, you got yourself beaten on pretty badly, huh?" said a smug Sasuke.
"Shut it, you bastard. You would have died in like three seconds if you faced that guy!"
"I doubt that."
Naruto flashed him an annoyed look which Sasuke pretended to not see. Comparing themselves to each other and arguing about it was nothing out of the ordinary. But what Sasuke was about to say was definitely out of the ordinary; they had always shied away from deep, meaningful conversation in their friendship. Perhaps it was because they understood each other so well that there was really no need for it.
"Naruto," he started, not sure of how he was going to say this, "I…about this whole thing…"
"Sasuke."
Typical Naruto. He cut him off before he could even begin to say how he felt. Sorry. Thank you. Sasuke wanted to tell him these things.
"Itachi is still out there. When you get that seal completely removed and I make a full recovery, we'll go after him together, deal?"
"Yeah."
They walked farther and entered the arena, taking the first two empty seats in the top row. Both of them reflected back on what had happened here.
"So, did you take Sakura-chan out?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah."
"How much do I owe that old chef?"
"Not much. You know, you didn't have to do that, Naruto."
Naruto just gave a short laugh, but that was it.
"You're not going to ask for details or anything?" asked Sasuke.
"Nope. Your business, not mine."
That was not expected. Sasuke thought that he'd be full of questions. But perhaps, at the moment, telling him stories about time together with Sakura wouldn't be the best of ideas. Naruto wouldn't like him pressing the subject, but he went and did it anyway.
"I just wish I didn't have to feel so guilty around her all the time."
Naruto sighed. "Do we really have to have this talk again?"
"You should at least tell her."
Naruto didn't feel like talking about this with him for the hundredth time, so he said nothing.
"If you think she's worth fighting for, then why aren't you?"
"You dumbass!" Naruto snapped, standing to face Sasuke, "why do you think I've been fighting all this time, trying to get you back!? It was for her…and for you. It was so that you two could be together! I saw how she cried when you left. She wouldn't have cried like that for just a friend: for me. It wasn't easy for me to stand there and watch her. I knew that the only way she was ever going to be happy again was if I brought you back. And you: you were lonely. You needed someone…special. You needed Sakura-chan to be happy as much as she needed you. And now I'm glad that you're together. It's what I've always wanted for the both of you."
Sasuke was dazed by his words. Naruto was breathing heavily, and he collapsed back into the seat.
"Geez," he laughed, "what's wrong with you, making a fragile, recovering patient like me get so worked up?"
Sasuke had no idea what to say. He wanted to apologize, but Naruto wouldn't want him to. This is what he always wanted for him and Sakura. But what about him?
They sat side by side, staring at the emptiness of the stadium.
"Hey, Sasuke."
"What?"
"Why don't you and I have a little match?" Naruto suggested, pointing down at the arena floor.
"What!?"
"Ah, come on! You remember don't you? I won in the first round, and you were beating Gaara. We probably would have ended up fighting each other in round two. So, what do you say?"
"But Naruto," he argued, "you just got out of the hospital. Tsunade-sama said that you shouldn't be in action for a while."
"Yeah, I'm pretty banged up," Naruto admitted, "but you've got a handicap too."
It was against his better judgment, but it wasn't like they were going to be able to do much to each other anyway. They were just going to mess around a little.
They jumped out onto the battlefield and stood at opposite ends.
"All right, you ready, Sasuke?"
"Bring it on, loser."
It wasn't really much of a fight. The two of them just threw a few weak strikes at other.
"You know, back at the chuunin exams, I probably would have won," stated Sasuke, "I had the speed advantage on you from training with Kakashi."
"No way!" countered Naruto, "you've always had the speed advantage on me, but that never stopped me, now did it?"
"You hadn't learned rasengan yet. You had no way of countering chidori," Sasuke said back.
"What are you talking about? I'd just use shadow clones to stay away from you and look for an opening."
"My taijutsu was always better than yours too, but during the chuunin exams, I think that's when our taijutsu strength was at its greatest difference," was Sasuke's next argument.
"Your taijutsu wasn't THAT much better than mine. Besides, I could summon toads at that point. You hadn't learned snakes yet."
"But you couldn't really control your summons back then. It wouldn't have made a difference."
Throughout the argument, they had gotten more and more serious. Their strikes were faster now and less sloppy.
"And then after I beat you," said Naruto, "I would've gone on to beat either Shikamaru or Shino to win the tournament."
"Nope," said Sasuke, dodging Naruto's fastest punch yet, "I would have been champion."
Naruto was already feeling at his limit, but he tried to move even faster. He came at Sasuke with a kick, but he felt something in his lower back give out. A loud crack echoed in the high walls of the stadium. All movement ceased. Naruto's face darkened in pain. One wobbly leg kept him standing.
Sasuke hurried to support his weight.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Hehe…I think we may have gone a bit too far."
They shared a quick laugh as they headed to the exit.
"Hey, Sasuke, let's not tell the girls about this. Just tell them we were walking when it happened," said Naruto.
"My thoughts exactly."
Together, they wobbled slowly back to the hospital.
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Kisame cupped his hands and dipped them into the cool, running river. He took a drink at splashed his face, then stood up and turned to the person behind him.
"So you got a plan?"
The Uchiha nodded before he too knelt near the water and filled his canteen.
He had told Kisame everything: the true story behind Akatsuki, the Uchiha clan, and how everything tied together. It had been one of the conditions in exchange for saving his life. It hadn't been easy though; the one he killed still had some fight left in him, and he gave the rogue Mist ninja some trouble. Kisame had thought he knew a lot of things about the clan and the goal of his organization, but it turned out that he hadn't even scratched the surface.
"You mind filling me in on that plan?" he asked.
Itachi smoothed his hair back and let the water run down his neck and back.
"Konohagakure," was what he said.
Kisame nodded and stood up, the river providing the refresher that he needed. He had figured as much. It was back to that damn village. But he didn't mind. Killing a few Leaf ninja was certainly worth the troublesome trip.
-xxx-
Things had gone better than Kabuto originally planned. He had obtained five rings: one from a corpse with no head, one from a corpse that was barely distinguishable as human, one from a masked corpse in a cave, and one from Kakuzu who wasn't much of a challenge with his hearts gone. Then there was the one he had gotten from a woman he had come across. She had given it to him willingly, saying something about her partner dying and not having a reason to keep it. There were only two left: Itachi and Kisame.
His plans with Danzou were going to have to be changed again. He couldn't have Itachi running around. Kabuto was going to have to find a way to get rid of them and get his hands on their prizes. It was all going to be decided very soon. He was going to have to utilize the fact that ROOTS was on his side. Things were going to get very interesting when he arrived back in Konoha. That's where it was all going to happen.
He gave a mad chuckle that continued uncontrollably. He snapped back to reality as suddenly as he had started.
Itachi was going to be there, Kabuto was sure of it. There was something there that both of them needed. It was the boy. Naruto was the key to everything.
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Naruto was in bed again. According to Sakura, he had suffered some nerve damage in his back, and he didn't think she totally bought his "it just happened while I was walking" story.
Konohamru, Moegi, and Udon had come, and he was amazing them with his story of victory. He was telling them about the huge blue explosion that could be seen from miles around. They were all listening with wonderment. However, Naruto was keeping one eye on Ebisu, who was eyeing Akiko and Suki. He promised that he'd go and show them some new jutsu when he felt better, and Konohamaru said that he had some new techniques of his own.
They left, and so did Sasuke when the evening came around. Sakura hadn't been able to stay after he and Sasuke had come back, but Suki and Akiko were there as always. The three of them ate at Naruto's favorite place. The old man and his daughter were happy to see him up and about; or maybe they were just happy to see that their main source of income had returned.
Naruto sat in the middle. These two girls had been with him all day except for when he had talked with Sasuke.
"You guys will probably be going on missions without me for a little while. I have to work on getting back to my normal strength."
"Don't worry about us, Maki-san, you just focus on making a full recovery so that Rakugosha can have its leader back."
"You know, he said, "I never really officially agreed to that name. I think we should change it."
"Why?" asked Suki, "It's a good name."
"Who the hell is going to be afraid of a group called 'dropout?'" he said.
"We've already made quite a name for ourselves. That's how Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-san found us in the first place," said Akiko. "And you can't complain, Kitsune, you have a cool codename. Suki and I don't have one."
"You can be known as Chibi," Naruto said to her.
She was still suspended in the moment just before unleashing on him when Naruto covered up.
"I'm injured, Aki-chan! You can't!"
"Well then, get better soon…"
The whole time, Naruto found himself looking at Suki from the corner of his eye. How could he forget what he was feeling right before he was revived? There was the pain, but there had been something else as well. He had been thinking of how terrible it would be to never see Suki again.
He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to just look at her. He was trying to do so as inconspicuously as possible, but he wasn't really getting a good look at her that way. He felt stupid; he had seen her pretty much every day for the past two and a half years, but somehow he felt different. She was sitting right beside him. How many times had they been this close over the years? Too many times to count. Yet, something was calling out for him to reach out and touch her.
"It's been pretty crazy for us the past month, hasn't it?" she said.
"Yeah," said Akiko, "a lot has happened."
Naruto found himself playing with Takahiro's pendant with his fingertips.
All three of them became nostalgic, thinking about what they had to go through to get here.
Akiko was so thankful for the two people sitting to her right. She remembered the first time she began to feel attached to her leader.
"Naruto-san…can I talk to you for a second?"
He had volunteered for the first night watch shift. The others were sleeping around the fire. Naruto was standing off to the side, looking out at nothing in particular.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well, you were honest with us today and told us that you might lose control of yourself in a fight. Well…I wasn't totally honest with everyone. It could happen to me, too."
"The curse mark, right? Sasuke lost control of it sometimes too," he said, no longer staring off.
"It's just that, I hate it when I lose control. It feels like…like…"
"It's like watching yourself doing horrible things and you can't do anything about it. It's bloodlust and rage, and when you finally snap out of it you feel empty inside."
"So it's the same way with you?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"I'm scared…it might take over when I'm fighting someone too strong for my normal self to handle."
Naruto nodded. She could tell by the way he looked that he understood completely.
"I'll tell you what," he said, "if you're ever afraid that you're going to lose it, just sit back and leave it to me. I'll take care of it so you won't have to strain yourself."
He was asking her to trust him. She hadn't had anyone to trust for a long time, but looking in to his eyes right now, she felt safe.
"Why did you bring all of us together like this?" she asked.
"Why go on being alone when we can all help each other?" he said. "Oh, and by the way, does your curse seal form look really cool?"
"Idiot…let's hope you don't have to see it."
It was then that her loyalty to him had been so strongly affirmed, and he never let her down, not once.
Suki remembered when she first started to realize her feelings for him. She couldn't really point out a single event; it had been a gradual progression. It was hard for her not to put her faith and trust in him early on. He was the very center of the group and he was the one that kept them together. She found herself telling him things she felt uncomfortable telling the others, and she always savored his company. No, she couldn't pick a single event that had made her fall for him, but the bond between them got stronger and stronger the more time they spent together.
Naruto was thinking about Takahiro, Baine, and Sato. It would be so great if they could be here with them, laughing and eating ramen in the empty seats. It wasn't alcohol, but he raised his glass. Seeing this, the two girls copied him, and he made a toast.
"To those who should be here stuffing their faces with us."
They touched glasses and drank, smiling at all the great memories that they would keep with them forever.
After dinner, he paid for the meal as well as what he owed Sakura and Sasuke's little date. He walked slowly behind Akiko and Suki as they made their way back, and Naruto called Akiko to walk with him. She pulled back, leaving Suki wondering what they were talking about.
"What is it, Maki-san?"
"Well, um…do you, uh…well, do you…"
Akiko waited patiently for him to get it all out.
"Do you think that someone can have feelings for more than one person?"
"Why, do you?" she said, suddenly excited.
"I don't know, but I feel something different when I'm around Suki now."
He described to her what he had felt in that distant dream world. He told her about how he just wanted to look at her during dinner. And Akiko listened. She was almost too excited to talk.
"Well, what do you think?" he asked her at the end.
"Hmm…maybe you should talk with her."
"N-no way! She's one of my best friends, and it's bad enough just having these kinds of weird feelings about her! Promise me you won't say anything!"
Did she really have to? She certainly didn't want to.
"Fine. I promise."
She skipped back over to Suki, who wondered what she was so happy about. Akiko had known for a long time how Suki felt, and now she knew how Naruto felt. At that moment, she made it her ultimate goal to make sure that they ended up together.