Chapter Twenty-Two
Sandpaper ground away the tired eyes of Kushina Uzimaki. A quick check of her watch indicated that it was 0817. She took a sip of the steaming coffee, her fuel of choice since the word came in that Naruto's group had come across Obito; she hadn't slept a wink that night or since. Then came the word that Naruto and Hinata were missing and Ino and Shikamaru had been sent back with pretty significant wounds.
Kushina had had enough, and she needed to do something, anything. Minato had recommended she pull her old scrubs out of mothballs and check in with Tsunade. The old hospital gear still fit as it had years earlier. During the Third Shinobi War, Lord Third refused to let Kushina anywhere near the front, fearful of what might occur if the enemy got their hands on Nine-Tails. Determined to serve, she joined a medical unit instead, training first as a medic and then a medical-nin's assistant. She'd considered abandoning being a shinobi altogether in favor of retraining to be a medical-nin when the war ended. Kushina jumped back into training full time, eventually becoming a jonin-sensei. Before she could be assigned a team, she had her first bout of morning sickness.
As she stood in the same courtyard where they had broken Kyuubi up twelve years ago, Kushina thought about all that had happened since. By necessity, she became a housewife and stay at home mom for Naruto's sake, not that she could do much else in the immediate aftermath of his birth. After he'd started school, Kushina began actively volunteering in the community, and she had several times been called to do diplomatic duties in her husband's place. Despite her physical disability, she also maintained her continuing education necessary to be keep her license as a medical-nin's assistant.
Despite staying busy, she felt truly helpless right now. What kind of mother are you? You should be out there looking for Nartuo and Hinata! Who cares if you can't mold chakra; would that have stopped you twelve years ago? A sharp pain in her guts struck like a kunai. Kushina pushed her guilt aside as she let the wave of discomfort pass. She knew she was exhausted, and she wasn't thinking straight. If she went gallivanting off now, she'd be ripe pickings for Obito. Even if he only got her quarter piece of Nine-Tails, he could cause considerable harm with it.
"Kushina!" Tsunade approached, looking dead serious. A group of orderlies and support personnel followed with stretchers in her wake, "They're incoming!" A bright flash momentarily blinded Kushina. When her eyes focused, her heart sank at what she saw. Naruto lay on his back, his breathing clearly labored, and the right side of his face covered in angry black and blue bruising. He and his outfit were filthy with dirt and grime. Hinata looked little better – the girl's exposed left foot was nearly double normal size, and her left knee looked similarly puffy. Like Naruto, Hinata looked like an animal that had rolled in the mud.
"Naruto! Hinata!" She shouted as she sprinted the short distance toward the group. Sakura was also with them, looking exhausted but not nearly as battle worn. "Son!" Kushina cried as she cradled her son instinctively.
Naruto groaned and wheezed, "Mom… you're… embarrassing me!"
A group appeared at her side with the stretcher. "Hang on, son, you're going up on the stretcher!" Kushina lifted her boy, despite his growing size, onto the stretcher gurney with the same ease as putting him in his cradle as a baby.
Tsunade wasted no time beginning physical exam – checking his vitals and listening to his lungs. Even without full training, Kushina could tell her boy was sick on top of being injured. "Kushina, give me a hand, we need to get him to exam room three!" The medical-nin snapped her head to one of the orderlies, "Have OR six and seven prepared in case we need to operate on either!" She turned to Sakura, "Sakura, are you able to assist?"
The girl nodded, almost looking excited at the prospect of getting to work. Tsunade returned the nod, "Get Hinata to exam room seven and get her changed out. Page Dr. Nakamura from pediatrics, and then get yourself looked after – you look awful!"
Minato lifted Hinata up onto a separate gurney. The girl's eyes opened slightly, "Uncle Minato?" She sounded confused, unfocused. "It's all right, Hinata," he replied, "you're safe!" The girl's eyes caught sight of Naruto, "Naruto!" she yelled, reaching her hand toward him.
"Shhh," Kushina ran to Hinata's side, "It's okay, Hinata, I need to take him to get him checked," she explained, gently stroking Hinata's forehead. No sign of fever, that's good! "I'll come and check on you once we're sure he's out of danger, okay?" Hinata nodded weakly.
Kushina turned to Sakura, "Sakura, make sure someone calls her parents," she commanded as she ran back to Naruto, already being wheeled toward the main building. The air in the ER was the usual mix of lemon-scented cleaner, bleach, and rubbing alcohol. Again, a sharp discomfort hit Kushina like lightning in her stomach; she ignored it as they entered the exam room.
"Naruto, we're going to raise you up a bit," Tsunade said as the head of the stretcher tilted forward. "Kushina, help me get him out of that outfit and into a gown." Despite the hornet's nest of activities, Kushina danced effortlessly through the choregraphed chaos to the cabinet to get the gown and back to her son's side. She began lifting her son's black t-shirt when he cried out in agony.
Kushina froze, but thankfully Tsunade didn't. Tsunade guided the shirt back down, grabbed a pair of surgical scissors, and in a fluid motion split the soiled garment from collar to waist. Together, they pulled open his shirt, instantly showing the source of his pain. Naruto's entire right side was angry patchwork of black, blue, and purple marks from his shoulder to the bottom of his ribcage. Kushina watched Tsunade gently press her stethoscope to his now bare chest, listening intently. Don't panic! Both sides of his chest are symmetrical, he's not coughing up blood, and he's not bleeding from a chest wound! He'll be fine!
"Get the portable x-ray down here, stat," Tsunade commanded one of her assistants. "Kushina," she asked, "are you still good to do x-ray assist?"
"Yes!" she nodded.
"Finish getting him out of his outfit and into a gown, we're doing at least a chest x-ray, maybe a shoulder," Tsuanade said as Naruto winced from her palpating the boy's right shoulder.
Kushina's guts twisted painfully as she slid Naruto's shirt off his should and off his body. Injuries looked even worse fully exposed. Don't look at it; looking won't make it better! As she began taking the rest of his outfit off, he noticed how little he resisted. Ever since he was little, Naruto was fiercely independent, fussing any time she had helped dress or undress him. As she slid the gown over his arms, Kushina reached onto one of the nearby trays for a moist towelette. With the gentlest of touch, she wiped away the dirt and grime masking her son's face.
As dirt gave way, her son's bright face greeted her. That's more like it. Naruto suddenly snatched her hand, his left cheek turning red as tears spilled from his eyes. "Mom!" he sobbed
"I'm here honey, what's wrong!"
"I'm sorry!" he continued to cry.
"Sorry for what?" Kushina leaned next to him, confused by his sudden change in mood.
"We failed the mission," he heaved, "it's all my fault!"
"Son, I'm sure you didn't fail!" she reassured him, wiping away tears and green snot.
"But we… didn't… stay out long… enough," he heaved and began coughing fitfully. Kushina could tell it was sheer agony for her boy. Another lighting strike hit her in the guts, this time almost taking her off her feet. Dammit, not now, Kurama! My boy needs me!
"Kushina, stand back," Tsunade ordered as she positioned the x-ray plate behind Naruto. "Okay, deep breath as best as you can!" Tsunade had already set the exposure technique for the portable x-ray unit, all she needed to do was press the button. Kushina watched her son wince as his chest expanded, pressing the exposure button. BEEEEP! "Breath normal, Naruto!"
Kushina pulled the plate from behind Narto as Tsunade positioned one beneath his arm. She fed it into the computer reader and was back at the x-ray unit before the plate had even started reading "Okay son, hold real still!" Tsunade stepped away and there was another exposure. They repositioned his arm twice for two more images.
Kushina finally had to sit down, finding a metal stool. Her head was beginning to spin from too much caffeine, too much stress, and too little sleep. The pain became clawing, pounding. "Okay, he does have three rib fractures without displacement, and I see pretty clear signs of pneumonia, probably bacterial in nature," Tsunade explained, turning toward her. "A few days on IV antibiotics, and he'll be fine! I'll get him admitted right away!"
Kushina noticed the look of relief in Kushina's face turn to fear. Kushina's mouth tasted salty, coppery, and she felt warm liquid running down her nose. Delicately, she brought her hand to her face wiping up some of the blood streaming down her nose. Oh god, no! "Tsunade," she gasped, "take care of my son!" Kushina collapsed forward. As everything went dark, she heard the medical-nin shout "CODE BLUE, EXAM THREE!" Good-bye, my son!
Akemi Hyūga wasted no time waiting for her husband as she sprinted from the compound to the hospital. Past countless dirty looks and concerned glances, she raced down the main thoroughfare. She knew last night when Lord Minato called to tell her the team was being withdrawn early that something was up – security policies forbade sharing mission information with family unless there was a dire emergency. When the phone rang moments ago, she knew it was bad before she even heard Sakura's voice asking her to come to the hospital.
The ER doors slid open, but almost caught her on the shoulders she raced through so fast, skidding to a stop at the registration desk. "Hinata Hyūga," she gasped breathlessly.
"Lady Hyūga," the nurse bowed slightly, "She's already been admitted to pediatrics, do you need someone to take you there?"
"PLEASE!"
Being guided through winding hallways by one of the orderlies lasted forever. Upon reaching the destination, the cute artwork and friendly environment of the pediatrics ward seemed out of character for how damn desperately Akemi's heart was beating. Honey, please be all right!
"Lady Hyūga, we're here," the orderly pointed to the room. Akemi burst through the door, "Hinata!"
To her surprise, Hinata looked anything but distressed, more confused than anything. "Mom?"
"Baby!" she wrapped her daughter in a hug and began bawling her eyes out. Akemi was again the young mother whose daughter had been kidnapped from her third birthday party only to have Hinata brought home safe and sound. She wanted to hold her daughter here and never let her go again.
When Akemi finally did break away, she looked at Hinata. Her right leg was propped up on several bolsters. Simple wraps encased the knee and foot, as did several ice packs. "It's not broken," Hinata said, nervously. Akemi eyed the IV in her girl's arm, nothing but saline.
"That's the least of my worries," she said, "what happened?!"
"It's a long story, Mom," she paused, "H-have you seen Naruto yet?"
Akemi shook her head, "I hadn't seen him in the ER, nor his parents."
A gentle tap at the door, and a young woman in a white coat and green scrubs walked in, "Lady Hyūga, I'm Dr. Nakamura." The doctor extended a hand which Akemi shook. She was a pleasant woman, short, rounded features, and average build. Brown shoulder-length hair curled slightly at the ends, giving her an almost childlike appearance despite easily being Akemi's age. "Hinata," the doc looked past Akemi toward her patient, "The x-rays came back clean as you thought they would – nothing broken, but we will probably be ordering an MRI today or tomorrow."
"MRI?" Akemi asked, alarmed.
"Yes, Lady Hyūga," Dr. Nakamura spoke in a calm, soothing voice, "She had significant inversion injury to her left ankle and left knee. However, on physical exam I find no evidence of gross instability of either joint. I just need to confirm the meniscus is intake and there is not other bony pathology that won't show up on x-ray."
Akemi felt her chest collapse as she let out the sigh of relief. She's okay! Her little girl would be fine.
"Mom," Hinata's voice sounded hauntingly apprehensive for someone who had such good news, "Where is Aunt Kushina?" Hinata trembled as she spoke.
"Kushina… I… is something wrong, Hinata?" Akemi stumbled over her thoughts.
Before anything could be said, Lady Tsunade slid to a stop just inside the room. Her normally pale complexion was tinged cherry red from frantic running; normally stone-cold facial features were twisted in wild panic. "Akemi! Hinata!" the great medical-nin heaved, "Need to… speak to… you urgently!"
"Lady Tsunade," Dr. Nakamura placed a hand on her fellow healer's shoulder, "are you all right?"
"It's Aunt Kushina, isn't it?" Hinata's anxiety was palpable. Tsunade nodded.
"What's happened to Kushina? Is Naruto okay?" Akemi asked firmly.
Tsunade's focus turned to Akemi, scanning her deeply. "Dr. Nakamura, please leave us, this is urgent." Dr. Nakamura nodded an understanding, closing the door as she left.
"All right, you have us alone, now what the hell is going on!" Akemi exclaimed.
"The seal is failing, isn't it?" Hinata voice cut the air.
"How did you know that?" Tsunade asked.
"I can feel it, Kyuubi is almost loose!"
Akemi felt her heart jump several beats, the way it had when Hinata spotted the lump of cancer seven years ago. "What can we do?" The words came out flat, inadequate to the direness of the situation. Akemi already knew what needed to be done, but she hated even contemplating it.
"You already know, Akemi," Tsunade nodded, "but I'm loathe to ask you to make that call."
Akemi turned to Hinata, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. If we get out of this, I'm never coming to a hospital again! "Hinata," she stared at her daughter, wondering if this was finally the last time, "you know what it's doing to her."
She nodded, "She can't hold it any longer; it's killing her."
Akemi was almost frightened at how much Hinata knew, "Did Kushina or Naruto tell you this?"
"Kurama did," she shook her head. "He needs to be reunited."
Akemi and Tsuande exchanged looks. Hinata had just plainly described a conversation with a nine-tailed demon as if she were commenting on what she had for lunch at school. "Hinata, what has he told you, exactly?" Akemi asked, trying to hold in her panic.
"The seal is integrated to her chakra network – the damaged part," Hinata's expression suggested she was staring past them, into something unseen. "If it fails, the temporary repair you did to Aunt Kushina's chakra network will fail; she'll die! But…"
"But what!" Tsunade exclaimed.
"Kurama is afraid, too," Hinata spoke in terrified realization. "He's never been so weakened, and he doesn't know what will happen if only part of him dies.
"So that's why he's so eager to be reunited," Akemi said, "In his weakened state, dying like this might actually be more or less permanent, at least for the fragment of him still in Kushina." Akemi turned toward Tsunade, a painful question in her heart. "Tsunade, assuming we can transfer the rest of Kurama into Hinata, can you save Kushina?"
Tsunade curled her lower lip, biting it. Akemi knew the medical-nin was about to cry, and she wrapped Tsunade in a hug. "I don't know!" Tsunade sobbed. The woman's shoulders shook violently from a pain Akemi knew all too well – loss. Tsunade had lost both her brother and her lover during the Second Shinobi War. Akemi had lost all of her family, and much of her village, during the ravages of the Third War. The thought that they held Kushina's life in their hands without any reasonable assurance they could save her now made Akemi feel just as helpless.
"Mom, Lady Tsunade," Hinata too was crying, "I know we don't know what will happen if we try, but… if we do nothing," Hinata choked on tears, "well, we know what will happen!"
"Tsunade," Akemi composed herself, "We have to try."
The other woman wiped away tears, "I-I'll get ready. Meet me in OR seven. I'll send orderlies to transfer Hinata down."
Tsunade turned and left, just leaving Akemi with Hinata. A lead weight sunk onto her chest; she needed to be free of it. "Hinata, you don't have to do this!"
Hinata stared at her with pleading, puppy dog eyes, "Who then?"
Only two words, and she disarms my whole argument. There was no one else. Akemi, herself, was too old and not strong enough to take Kurama. Naruto, aside from being sick and injured, was still too young to contain the whole thing. Minato was not compatible with Kyuubi's chakra. "Hinata, I don't know what's going to happen!" she cried.
"Mom, we didn't know what was going to happen when you were diagnosed with cancer and going through chemo," Hinata fought back tears in a choked voice, "We got through it then, and now we have to get through now!"
"Hinata," Akemi could bring herself to say, "but you could die," so, she instead opted for the only words she could manage, "I love you, daughter!" Akemi wrapped Hinata tightly in her arms, hoping it wouldn't be the last time.
"I love you, too, Mom!" Hinata replied. "It's going to be all right."
Jiraiya paced anxiously outside the operating room where Kushina was on a respirator. The poor thing, he knew when he got back that things were bad, but he never expected things to turn epically bad so suddenly. When he and Minato got back after transporting the rest of the expedition, they were greeted by a frantic Akemi Hyūga. At first, they thought Naruto's condition had severely worsened. They were only partly correct. Akemi filled them about what had happened. At the same time Kushina's crisis began, Naruto's fever began spiking dramatically, and he was now in the pediatric critical care unit on a heavy dose of antibiotics.
Jiraiya knew better. Kyuubi's chakra was boiling from the stress being placed on Kushina, and it was affecting both Naruto and Hinata as well. Their only possible plan was to transfer the remaining part of Nine-Tails from Kushina and into Hinata and then finally repair Kushina's chakra network. And here we are, all dressed up and nowhere to go!
Everything was ready, but they were waiting on Tsunade. Dammit, girl, it's been almost half-hour, you used to be able to be in and out of the operating room in less time than that! Jiraiya turned to see his stepson looking in on Kushina, Akemi, and Hinata through the glass window to the operating theater. Minato had been through hell the past forty-eight hours like the rest of them. Jiraiya couldn't imaging the torture of having an ill wife and a son severely injured and sick all in the same day. It twisted in Jiraiya's guts the same way when he'd heard the three orphans he'd looked after had died. After that, Jiraiya clammed up and began a long trek around the world, hoping to replace painful memories with new ones. Will you run away this time, too?
"Minato, son, why don't you go check on Naruto," he said as he began stepping away from the operating room.
"Where are you going?" Minato asked.
"Something is wrong," Jiraiya said, "I'm going to check on Tsunade. I'll meet you back here in a few."
The walk down the hallway of the hospital caused droplets of sweat to tickle down the back of Jiraiya's neck. Even with efforts to make the place less clinical and more alive, the hospital still felt sterile and devoid of soul. He could never work in a hospital, much less stand being a long-term patient. He'd die first.
The red oak door greeted him like a slap in the face. A tight band of apprehension wound itself around his chest as he willed his hand toward the red stained wood. This is ridiculous! It's just a door and she's just a woman – a woman you've been pining after since you were a kid. The woman you see every time you close your eyes at night. Like Minato, Jiraiya was orphaned at a young age. Unlike Minato, Jiraiya never had anyone to teach him how to be a man during his formative years. Yes, Lord Sarutobi had been a mentor, but it wasn't the same as having a father.
Time is wasting and so are you; are you going to knock or just stare? Jiraiya knocked twice with the door resonating firmly. Nothing, no response. He waited several moments, but this time he tried the door handle; it was unlocked. "Tsunade?" he called as he opened the door ajar. Still no answer.
Against his better judgement, he threw open the door. There was a chance she was changing her outfit to scrub in and just didn't hear him. In such a case, he'd see the view he'd always longed to see, probably followed by a slow and agonizing death. In the gravity of this moment, the perverse thought of having that fantasy fulfilled gave him neither pleasure nor comfort.
Instead of being greeted by an angry, half-clad banshee, his eyes instead registered a truly bizarre sight: Tsunade was seated at her desk, face buried in her arms, and sobbing uncontrollably. "Tsunade!" Jiraiya rushed as fast as his old legs would carry him. "Tsunade, what's wrong!" he boomed.
Tsunade responded uncharacteristically, grabbing him by him by his robes and burying her face in his chest. At first, Jiraiya sniffed the air carefully, suspecting the worst. No scent of booze, so it's not that. He felt guilty for even considering the possibility she'd drink before a major medical event. The woman was a legendary boozehound and a gambler when not on the clock, but the second lives were in her hands or potentially on the line, she sobered and did not revert until danger had clearly passed.
Cautiously, Jiraiya put his arms around her in a gentle embrace. He felt awkward as a teenage on his first date. For the incredible number of women he'd sought pleasure with, none of them had ever evoked this feeling. He didn't know what to do but just stand here and hold her. "Tsunade…" he whispered gently, feeling his throat twitch.
"I can't…. I can't do it, Jiraiya," she pounded a fist on his chest. She pulled back from him, tears and snot running from her eyes and nose. "I can't!"
He gently traced away tears from her face, even the lightest brush of her face on his fingers felt electric. "Tsunade, tell me what's wrong!" he said urgently. Despite feeling something special in the moment, he knew now was neither the time nor place, sadly.
"She's going to die, Jiraiya!" She sobbed again, "She's going to die, and it will be my fault!" She again buried her face in his chest, pounding weakly with her left fist.
He took her hand, delicate but strong, and brought her eyes to his, "Tsunade, what the hell kind of talk is that? Your skill is second to none! You're the only one who knows how to do this!"
"Where were those skills when Dan died!" she wailed, "Or Nawaki!" She collapsed into him. Just mention of her lover and younger brother, both of whom died tragically when she was younger, made her body heave like a tsunami she cried so hard. Jiraiya closed his arms around her tighter, keeping her from falling to her knees.
"Tsunade, we were at war, people die in war…"
"Both died because I was nearby!"
"You know that's not true! How many times did we get out of a pinch together that should have killed both of us, before and during the war?"
Her crying halted for the moment. Tsunade stared at him with her coppery eyes. There were a thousand urges he felt right now, but now was not the time. Not now, but maybe, just maybe not long from now. "Jiriaya…" she strained.
"Tsunade, life's a big gamble…"
"I suck at gambling, Jiraiya!" she firmly tapped a finger into his chest, interrupting him.
"… and the house we call death always wins in the end," he continued. "Tsunade, I know the odds are against us, but you know one hundred percent that Kushina will die if we do nothing!"
"We?" she asked.
"I'll be there every step with you if you want," he said, "Your lucky rabbit's foot. She has the best chance if we both help, ya know!" Jiraiya managed a short chuckle, imitating Kushina's verbal tic.
Tsunade rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, if you weren't such a degenerate," she paused, staring up into his eyes again, "you'd actually be pretty good at this whole relationship thing." Tsunade smiled crookedly.
He couldn't help himself. "Speaking of," he grinned, "how about we grab a drink when this is done?"
"Trying to get in my pants at a time like this!" she wailed, waving a fist. "You're incorrigible, Jiraiya!"
"It got you to straighten up," he grinned again, waving an index finger.
She straightened her outfit and turned to walk toward the door. For a moment, he just watched her walk to the door, transformed as if nothing happened. As she reached the red door, she turned back at him. "Well, you coming you major perv?"
He nodded, following her wordlessly back to the operating room. She burst through a set of double doors, in the doctor's ready room. No sooner had he followed, he handed him a smock, mask, and headcover. "You'll have to scrub in if you're staying in with me."
They both washed their hands side by side. Jiraiya began feeling some of the apprehension Tsunade must have been feeling as he scrubbed his hands thoroughly – there was a very good chance he'd be consoling his adoptive son in a few minutes or hours. Thinking about it won't save Kushina or anyone else, now focus! "Jiraiya," Tsunade said as she dried her hands and tied on her surgical mask.
"Yeah?"
"If it's all the same, I'll take that drink after I'm sure she'll be fine." Jiraiya couldn't help but notice what looked like a grin being hidden by the mask. If we get through this then maybe, just maybe… Jiraiya smiled as he tied on a surgical mask. He'd save his dream for later; there was a life that needed saving.