Chapter 49: Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Tobirama knew it was impossible to transport four heavily injured bodies back to the Senju Medical Center albeit having the chopper to aid them. They just didn't have the time and space to properly land the vehicle to safely gather Kakashi and the rest upon locating the place where his son's transmitter had been blinking.
There were just too many buildings around and based on Genma and Yamato's report to him, it seemed that he was running out of time and fast! So, he did what he had to do and pulled the necessary strings in order to make use of the nearest, most capable, and advanced hospital his team could find within the vicinity.
He had also instructed his other men to go and fetch Tsunade whom he had brought with them at the beginning of the mission to bring her to the venue as though foretelling that something like this would happen...
When one of his men brought a phone to him and found out that it was Tsunade who was at the other end of the line, he instructed his niece to patiently wait at the chosen place and prepare herself of what's to come… because as he climbed off the chopper, using only a rope ladder while the vehicle hovered a few meters up above, he knew from the looks of it that things didn't look good...
And when Genma and Yamato frantically ran to him and led him to where they found Kakashi's body, it took him everything he had not to crumble at the sight.
His beloved son was there, eyes shut and lips slightly parted as a dangerous amount of blood pooled around him and Sakura.
Tobirama needed to act fast.
Tsunade was patiently waiting in one corner of the hospital, but it did not help that the three other women with her, Ino, Hinata, and Temari manifested the worry and restlessness she was feeling. She was able to reach her uncle over the phone but he had only left her with short, brief words to describe their situation which made her anxiously tap her sandaled foot on the tiled floor.
Tsunade was about to shift to chew on her fingernails when her head whipped towards the clearing on the emergency entrance because she heard them first before she saw them.
Within seconds, a series of ambulances and cars had parked themselves in front of the wide entrance as she promptly shouted chains of commands to the hospital staff who obediently followed her every order.
It was true that the family name Senju was a famous name that everyone knew of, what with her father, uncle, and brother's business empire growing over the years. But in in the medical world, that name held an entirely different power which could equally rival that of the head of the country, and Tsunade saw to it that she was to use such power as she deemed fit and necessary. Even abuse her privileges if need be. But as a series of stretchers were wheeled inside, Tsunade could feel her hard exterior slowly dissolve as she saw Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and then Kakashi who looked like he was about to pass through death's door.
Reports of a car accident, assault, and use of firearms were immediately reported to her and she absorbed them all to get a gist of the situation.
But then, Tobirama appeared and gave out orders of his own while giving priority towards Kakashi. And so Tsunade gathered her wits and rushed with the hospital staff who had these horrified look on their faces as though they were the ones who were actually facing a great demise.
She was perfectly aware of what they felt because she probably looked the same. But as she went with the ones who were wheeling Kakashi further inside, a hand stopped her momentarily and when she turned to look, Tobirama was beside her and was speaking to her, and Tsunade promptly held her tears in check.
"I want you to check in on the others," He said.
"But…"
"Tsunade, there's no other doctor whom I would entrust Kakashi to besides you and me, but at the moment, there are also others who need your help." Tsunade looked up to him and saw that her uncle had made up his resolve. "Besides, Kakashi is a strong man, and I will do everything I can to draw out that strength of his. Also, prioritize Sakura. She has an important part in all of these." He said as he gently tapped Tsunade on the shoulder before Tobirama passed by her and swiftly proceeded to where Kakashi was wheeled in.
Tsunade quickly gathered her wits and proceeded to go about her own and was surprised yet thankful to see Sai on her side who was already in his medical uniform, waiting for her orders.
"You, relay to me everything you know and don't leave anything out." She ordered as they briskly walked towards the rooms while Sai narrated everything in a few, short yet concise statements.
Then, Tsunade told Sai that she wanted him to check in on Naruto and Sasuke as she began enumerating all the things she thought was needed to be done based on her observation of their injuries. Before they parted ways, Tsunade said, "Do everything you can to assist the doctor-in-charge. Stabilize them and report back to me, got it?"
Sai nodded as he entered one of the rooms where either Sasuke or Naruto was located and vowed to shift monitoring both men as he promised to Tsunade.
Tsunade was walking faster now, quickly wrapping her head around the information which Sai gave her and understood why Sakura needed to be prioritized.
The information about the Topaz being inside Sakura was of course important. However, nobody took into consideration that there were still other things they had yet to know—that even Sai, with all his techy gadgets, and a temporary access to The Glimpse didn't know of. That there were other things, substances inside Sakura that only the man responsible of getting her kidnapped knew...
But now that man was dead.
Now, they had nothing.
Sai was there when the nurses tore both Sasuke and Naruto's clothes before they were wheeled inside their respective operating rooms, and he couldn't help but sigh upon knowing that his friends had narrowly escaped death thanks to the special suit which Tobirama provided.
Though Sai noticed the absence of the same coat on Sasuke, Tobirama seemed to have also foreseen such because he also provided bullet proof vests for them to wear, and it was thanks to that, that Sasuke was able to survive the three bullets aimed at his vital points that could've killed him instantly.
The only thing that his friends needed to get through now was the extreme blunt trauma they have suffered, several broken bones and possibly abdominal injuries, and the risk of brain and other internal hemorrhaging.
Now, Sai was left to look after the two while they get themselves treated and he could only hope for the best for all of his friends no matter how annoying they could be as the doctors went to work.
[In another room…]
Tobirama had no idea how many hours had already passed but he remained calm while his hands swiftly but meticulously worked on Kakashi's surgery. His son has suffered several major injuries: broken bones, penetrating abdominal trauma, ruptured abdominal organs, a few other complications over the next, and many more, but Tobirama remained focused on saving his son's life.
He took surreptitious glances over his son's face, each exhale of his breath a little lighter every time he sees Kakashi's steady breathing despite the tubes all over him.
He knew that it was unwise to take on a close relative as a patient especially when it involved surgery because extreme emotions may greatly affect a doctor's performance but Tobirama needed to do this with his own hands if he wanted Kakashi to live.
"Just a little more, Kakashi, c'mon. I know you can get through this. C'mon." Tobirama whispered to him in between bated breaths as he encouraged Kakashi to push through, but when he thought that he was almost done, Tobirama's gut painfully clenched and the taste of dread filled his mouth as alarms suddenly began blaring and Kakashi succumbed into shock.
"No. No! Kakashi! C'mon!" Tobirama yelled as he tried his best to mend whatever he could, not knowing that in the operating room a few doors after his, Tsunade was having the same problems because Sakura's organs were gradually failing and she wasn't responding to any treatment which the doctor introduced.
Like Tobirama, the blonde doctor yelled her despair as she tried her best to once again stabilize Sakura's condition but Tsunade's heart agonizingly lodged on her throat as she watched Sakura's eyes roll on the back of her head, her body convulsing painfully as she also went into shock.
Ino, Hinata, and Temari were led in the hospital's available function room as they patiently waited for updates. However, several long hours seemed to have already passed and they have still yet to hear one word from either Tobirama or Tsunade about the state of their friends.
Hinata was the most distraught of them all upon seeing Naruto's condition the moment the hospital staff wheeled everyone in. Ino and Temari were in the middle of continuously comforting Hinata when footsteps approached their direction.
Shikamaru and Kiba appeared, accompanied by Genma and Yamato.
Anger suddenly flared within Ino and Temari's eyes but Hinata beat them to it as two resounding slaps echoed through the air, not even minding the other patients, nurses, and doctors who were passing by and seeing them through the glass walls, eyeing them worriedly.
"How could you? How could you do this to us?" Hinata gritted through her teeth as tears kept falling on her cheeks but both Kiba and Shikamaru's eyes remained downcast. That's when Ino and Temari appeared behind Hinata and looked at the boys, not even knowing whether they should look at them with pity or hatred, or both.
"Why, Shikamaru?" Temari asked as she approached her lover whom she hadn't seen since the incident at the gallery. "Why didn't you tell me? What am I even to you?" She uttered as she made a grab of the front of Shikamaru's suit and sobbed, almost wanting to tear the material apart.
"What are we even to you, guys?" Ino repeated. Voice strained and eyes starting to tear up when she looked at the men she thought she knew. She gave both Kiba and Shikamaru a slapping of her own as she demanded for answers.
"We were supposed to be friends! More than, even! We are family, and we all stick together through thick and thin no matter the cost, no matter the circumstances!" Ino yelled.
"It was a mission we had to accomplish." Shikamaru murmured.
"Mission? Mission?! None of these would've ever happened if you valued us more than your stupid fucking mission!" Hinata sobbed, and then Temari spoke.
"Even though you and I didn't grow up together, we all knew that our families were fucked up, but this? What the hell were you guys even thinking when you took Sakura?! We were so scared. You left us at the gallery. It was as if you planned for us to die!"
"Was your mission that important that you took everything all of us had for granted? Was it worth destroying everything? We know that it was Sasuke who took the lead, and god knows that I want to strangle the bastard right now! That I want to take my anger out on him! On all of you! But you, Shikamaru," Ino pointed at him with an accusatory finger. "I thought you knew better." She whispered full of regret as Temari took a step back and cried tears of her own.
"Now four of our friends are dying…Naruto's dying. And even if I hate him for what he did…this is…this is just too much." Hinata sobbed.
Genma and Yamato silently watched on the side as the encounter took place, and there was nothing more that Kiba and Shikamaru wanted to do than to beg for their friends' forgiveness and enclose them in a pleading embrace. But anger flared in all of the girls' tear stricken eyes and to move towards them during the heat of the moment would only create more damage than to repair broken relationships they wanted to mend.
A knock on the door broke the tension as they all shifted to see who came knocking.
They expected it to be either Tobirama or Tsunade, already bringing with them the news they all wanted to hear, but the person at the other side of the door was someone whom no one expected at all...
Probably because he was nowhere to be seen and had been gone for quite a while, only occasionally sending messages to the girls that he was okay, that he was in the middle of research and that he had to disappear for a while. But now that he was back and he presented himself before them, no one had expected the next few words he had to say.
"Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka including Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, you are all hereby sentenced to ten years in the Acheron prison for violating the Sacred Council Laws by consorting with a foreign intruder mafia. Gaara of the Sand Enterprise and Neji Hyuuga shall suffer seven years of imprisonment as decided upon by the council because of the degree of their participation in the matter."
Shino stiffly uttered the words as though he was holding back a choke but his features remained passive and unreadable behind his dark, round glasses as he slid a brown envelope on top of the table before Shikamaru and Kiba, probably containing the said judgment.
When Shino shifted a little, that's when Genma saw the golden pin glinting on the right collar of the man's suit.
"Y-you're a Sentinel?"
Shino regarded Genma and Yamato for a second before he nodded.
The Sentinels are people belonging to an individual, underworld organization whose functions are similar to that of the international police.
They have a separate council of their own and could be regarded as more powerful than the mother council because their grasp of the underground activities is far wider than the latter. It included laying down punishments for violators as compared to the mother council who was only in charge of the country's underground businesses.
Though they have minimal participation in the illegal doings of the underground realm, the Sentinels stood as watchdogs and gatekeepers of mafia families in the country and decided who were in or out.
As for the punishment mentioned by Shino, the Acheron Prison is only one among the bitter punishments a Sentinel can give.
No one knows what happens beyond the walls of the Acheron prison. One could only imagine the endless suffering of its prisoners because after all, its name had been derived from one of the rivers of hell, with Acheron famously known as the rivers of woe.
"But aren't you supposed to be non-existent? I—I mean, your identity should be highly and strictly confidential." Now, it was Yamato's turn to ask but Shino answered him anyway.
"That's true. But I believe it is only but proper to reveal my identity since everything had become twisted enough as it is. I also owe it to my friends to let them know the truth because apparently, secrets can't be kept forever." He said as he eyed two of his closest friends whom he grew up with. A few heartbeats passed when Hinata was suddenly before Shino, asking him a question.
"H-how about Naruto and Sasuke? They are still in surgery. We don't even know if they're alright or what and you'll still take them to prison?"
Shino nodded as he faced Hinata and gave her a calm response.
"Being unconscious and confined in this hospital is as much a punishment similar to the ones they are to receive in the Acheron confinement. And if and when they happen to survive this, we have no choice but to apply the same judgment and take them away.
Hinata choked back a sob as she realized the consequences of what their friends did. Even Neji wasn't able to escape. Hinata then watched Shino raise his right hand as though he was about to snap them, but he thought otherwise and turned towards Shikamaru and Kiba, and spoke again.
"In the snap of my fingers, the men I have with me will come in here and take you into custody. I hope you don't put up any sort of resistance. But right now, I'm giving you the time to say your goodbyes. It's the least I could do in my position as your friend. I'm sorry."
Shino whispered the last bit of his words towards his friends. Kiba and Shikamaru only nodded in response as they tentatively approached the girls when the doors to the function room opened and Tobirama appeared, followed by Tsunade.
Every pair of eyes had been directed to both doctors. All of them waiting and eager to hear the news. Tobirama seemed to want to say something as his lips parted slightly, Tsunade, on the other hand, had concealed herself behind the doctor… but then he settled for a simple, exhausted shake of his head which had sent everyone to tears that even the great doctor had failed to contain as the same hot tears rolled down his face.
A/N: Okay, hold up. I seem to have a knack of miscalculating the chapters I still need to write to complete this story, but please don't put me on a stake and burn me alive. (╥︣﹏╥) You probably have a lot of questions right now but allow me to get on with the next chapter to settle everything, and hopefully come up with a bomb ending because it's FIFTY (I didn't really want to end the story at forty-nine. Hah! Excuses!). But I do believe this fanfic's ending deserves some fireworks.
See you all again at the next and final chapter (hopefully), and again, thank you all for reading. Stay safe everyone!
