Chapter Twenty-Four
The next morning, Kohaku was almost worse off than he had been before. His bloody, wet cough had returned, and he'd developed a fever overnight. It was more difficult to breathe now, and things were not looking good.
Hisahito crouched next to Kohaku, frowning. "I'll do the same thing I did for him last night, but we need to get him home fast. There's really only so much I can do, and this is a serious injury." He told Kakashi, hands glowing green over the bandaged wounds as he worked at removing the excess blood that had begun filling his lung again.
Kakashi nodded slightly, keeping a close eye on Kohaku. He could tell he was awake, but didn't bring it to Hisahito's attention just yet.
"I'm particularly worried about this bite. I don't know what kind of bacteria that thing was carrying in its mouth, and it already looks like it's becoming infected." Hisahito sighed softly, checking Kohaku's temperature again. "It's not looking good."
"He'll be alright." Kakashi said firmly, gently shaking Kohaku once Hisahito pulled his hands away.
"Are you feeling well enough to run? We shouldn't waste anymore time here." Hisahito asked as he went to lift Hisayo up.
"I'll be fine." Kakashi replied, gently lifting Kohaku into his arms, taking care not to jostle him too much. He glanced down at Kohaku with a frown, meeting his half open eyes. "Hang in there, Kohaku. We're going to get you help."
Kohaku nodded, resting his head against Kakashi's shoulder. "I know. I trust you." He whispered softly, shutting his eyes to rest. He was trying to conserve his energy, so that when they made it home, he could walk into the village of his own accord, though he didn't mind being carried by Kakashi.
Grim expressions shadowing their faces, Hisahito and Kakashi set off for Konoha.
It became clear when they were only a few miles away from the village that something was horribly wrong.
If the dark smoke trailing above the village wasn't enough of a sign that something was wrong, then the terrifying snarls of some enormous beast were certainly enough to frighten even the most hardened shinobi.
The tips of large orange ears and tails peeked over the trees, telling the four shinobi exactly what had happened in their absence. The Kyuubi had been freed.
Horror-struck, Kohaku struggled in Kakashi's grip until he set him down on the ground. He stumbled forward, taking a moment to gain his footing. Where was Minato? Kushina? Naruto?
"Kohaku! Stay here!" Kakashi put his hand on Kohaku's shoulder and tried to stop him. "Hisahito and I will go to help."
"No!" Kohaku snapped, suddenly remembering what Tamayo had told him all those months ago. "I have to find...Kushina."
"There's nothing we can do for her!" Kakashi had already realized what it meant for Kushina when he'd seen the Kyuubi's ears above the treetops. As much as it hurt to admit it, they had to prioritize containing the Kyuubi at all costs.
Kohaku spun around to face him, anger written clearly across his face. "Even if that's true, I have to try!" He retorted. "You may have forgotten what Niizuma-san said, but I haven't! And if there's even the slightest chance that I can save her and stop the Kyuubi at the same time, I'll take it!"
He was, perhaps, overreacting, but Kohaku didn't have many people in his life that were precious to him. Kushina was one of those people, and he would be damned if he didn't try to save her.
A moment later, he was gone, sprinting for the village as fast as his injured body would allow. He was still one of the fastest shinobi in the village, and it was all Kakashi could do to keep up.
Their progress was halted at the village gates by none other than Akagi Ichika, who looked more monstrous than she had the last time they had met.
Ichika had made more modifications to her body since their last meeting to compensate for and repair the damage that Kohaku had done to her. She hardly looked human anymore, both arms made completely of steel instead of the skin tone wood she had used before to make her look somewhat more human.
Her face was a mess of stitches and a false eye replaced the one that Kohaku had taken from her, focusing like a camera lens on the two approaching shinobi.
"TENKO!" Ichika snarled, baring unnatural fangs at him.
"Go, Kohaku. I'll distract her." Kakashi said when he caught up. He glanced at Kohaku, frowning. "You're right; you have to try." He knew that Kohaku would not survive a fight with Ichika and still be able to attempt calming the Kyuubi.
Kohaku hesitated, but moved to sprint away before his strength failed him. Kakashi caught him by the elbow and he stopped to glance back.
"Make sure you come back to me alive." Kakashi said before letting go and turning to face Ichika.
"I will. Promise me the same." Kohaku waited until he caught the nearly imperceptible nod, and then bolted, disappearing past Ichika faster than she could react.
And then Kohaku was in the village, surveying the damage as he made his way towards the center of the village, where the Kyuubi was wreaking havoc. He could see several shinobi trying desperately to contain the beast, with no luck.
He sought out Minato, concerned when he couldn't see him anywhere. Kushina, however, was trying desperately to keep the Kyuubi from moving from its spot, despite her weakening body. When he looked closer, he spotted Naruto cowered behind Kushina, staring up at the enormous tailed beast with a terror that could not be contained. Nozomu sat next to him, her fur bristling with fear and anger.
Kohaku sped up, leaping across rooftops until he finally leapt down and skidded to a stop between Kushina and the Kyuubi, naginata held defensively in both hands. He glanced back, relieved to see that Kushina was still standing so strong after having the Kyuubi extracted from her.
He turned his attention back to the Kyuubi, wondering what he was supposed to do now. Tamayo had never told him what the technique was that he needed to use to seal the Kyuubi again and save Kushina.
Taking a deep, rasping breath, he looked up and met the Kyuubi's enraged eyes. And then he knew. He knew what he had to do.
"Kohaku?" Kushina asked, startled at his sudden appearance.
"It's going to be okay, Kushina." Kohaku said softly, his heart breaking as he realized that there was no way out of this for him. "Tell Kakashi that I'm sorry."
The Kyuubi stared down at Kohaku, suddenly still, its eyes narrowing with recognition. For the first time since the Kyuubi had been freed, everything was silent.
Then Kohaku set his naginata down, slowly making several complicated hand seals. He took a step back, and then another, until he was standing side by side with Kushina. "I can seal the Kyuubi again, and make sure you survive."
"But Kohaku…" Kushina seemed to realize that there was something he wasn't telling her. "How?" She had never realized that he had any talent with sealing tailed beasts.
"It doesn't matter how." Kohaku replied, making the last seal.
Enormous chains of chakra erupted from the ground, clasping around each of the Kyuubi's legs. The chains began to pull tight against the Kyuubi, propelling it towards Kohaku and Kushina.
Kohaku swayed, a bloody cough escaping his lips. "I'd sit down if I were you." He said, turning to Kushina when the Kyuubi was close enough.
The Kyuubi struggled violently against the chains, seeming to realize what Kohaku was planning, but there was nothing it could do when more chakra chains sprung up to restrain it. A vicious snarl escaped its bared lips.
Hands shaking, Kohaku made another hand seal, turned to face the seated Kushina. And just like that, the Kyuubi had vanished, returned to its host. He crouched down next to Kushina, biting back another cough.
Kohaku leaned closer to her, his hands beginning to glow blue with chakra as he took her hands in his own. He couldn't help but smile at her as his vision began to grow dark. Kakashi would be upset when he found out what he was doing, but...he couldn't stand the thought of little Naruto growing up without his mother.
"What are you doing?!" Kushina finally understood what he was doing, and tried to yank her hands away from him, but he refused to let go.
"You know...you, Minato, and Naruto are family to me. And I just...can't stand the thought of the three of you...being torn apart." Kohaku swayed, struggling to remain upright. "I'm already dying, and I...I want what little life I have left to go to good use. You deserve to see your son grow up, and he deserves to have you in his life longer than this."
"Kohaku…" Kushina was beginning to cry.
"It's strange. I never thought that this would be how I'd die. I always thought I'd die alone, and I was okay with that, but now...I'm glad I'm not alone." Kohaku shut his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he faded into unconsciousness, not even feeling it when he hit the ground.
A/N: The end of this chapter was so hard to write, but I hope ya'll have been enjoying this fic so far! Thanks for reading!
rainwalker12: I imagine that when it's finished, this fic will be around 30 chapters long, give or take?
