It's actually going to be longer than three parts because I don't want to make each part more than 20,000 words, so I've been breaking them up more and more.
It was dinnertime when everyone finally came back together again. Naruto had rather reluctantly headed back down the stairs – of his own accord, this time; it was progress – before sitting at the table. His face was a barren slate but the bags underneath his eyes and paled face told a different story to those who gave it a second glance. Sakura and Sasuke had helped Tsunami with dinner while Tazuna simply brought his grandson some food since Inari refused to eat with ninjas. The energy carried around the room was carefree and easy-going, even if they were all stressing in their own way.
However, the peacefulness was interrupted with a rapid fire of knocking on the front door, the sudden frantic sound nearly startling some out of their seats.
Sasuke is up in an instant, signaling for his teammates to stay back but close enough in case an attack was readied for them. He creaks the door open, only about half his face showing. There is a quivering man standing outside, pale-faced and in shock. Sasuke narrows his eyes suspiciously, making sure to scan the area behind the man before him, "May I help you?"
"Um... y-yes, Tsunami-chan wouldn't h-happen to be inside, would she?" The man mumbled out, pointing inside for emphasis.
"State your name and your relations to Tsunami-san." The Uchiha voiced out harshly, hand hidden behind the door readying itself near his kunai pouch.
He gave the gennin a look, bottom lip quivering – whether it be from the morning fog or fear, Sasuke would never know, "P-Please, I... I need to – no – I have to speak with her, it's... it's really important!"
The dark-haired teenager shook his head, "I'm sorry; what is your name and how do you know Tsunami-san?"
"I'm... I'm Hoshimaru, I've known Tsunami-chan for years." The man explained exasperatedly, "I've got to speak to her, I'm just so... please, kid, is she-"
"Hoshi?" The quiet voice piped up from behind Sasuke, said gennin giving the woman an exasperated look at her arrival. This man could be out to hurt her or her father and she was looking ready to open her arms for him!
"Tsunami-chan, thank Kami, I need to speak with you!" Hoshimaru huffed looking rather relieved, a quivering smile gracing his hardened features.
The single mother nodded, pushing the boy back towards the table before opening the door more for the man, "Please, come in, you look terrible."
"Thank you." The man gave a short and rather sad laugh before taking a large step in, taking his jacket off and laying it over the loveseat.
"There is some extra water for some hot tea if you'd like a glass, Hoshi." Tsunami gave him a soft smile.
"That'd be fantastic, thank you so much." The light-haired man returned the expression, taking one of the two remaining seats at the table. The gennin of Team 7 eyed him suspiciously but did not say anything.
Tazuna hummed at the sight of the newcomer, "Hoshimaru, it sure has been a while. Where've you been? It's like we never see you anymore."
A cup of tea was placed in front of the man, a quiet 'thank you' coming from his lips. He didn't speak for a moment after that, though, trying to desperately collect his thoughts. "There's so much... It's just... I don't even know where to begin..." He admitted after a long stretch of silence, sighing quietly with his head bowed.
Tsunami laid a hand on his, giving him a reassuring smile, "It's alright, take as much time as you need."
Hoshimaru shook his head, "See, I don't have much time."
Naruto's head tilted, a calculating glaze of his eyes. He took the silence to quietly think of any medically potential problems that could result in someone not having much time left to live. He kept the thoughts to himself, instead turning to his client who started to speak. "What do you mean by that?" Tazuna looked concerned, furrowed eyebrows twitching in question, "Did something happen?"
Calloused fingers ran through light-colored hair as Hoshimaru huffed out a sigh, "Tazuna-san, I took up a different job a few months ago... that's why I disappeared all the sudden, why I stopped working on the bridge. I just... I thought that..." The rugged man shut his eyes, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Take a moment, Hoshi, just breathe." Tsunami shushed patiently. The three gennin observed the interaction quietly, trying to pick up underlying pieces of the story here and there. This could always be a trap; they had to be sure that nothing bad was going to happen under their watch.
"I'm sorry, Tsunami-chan... Tazuna-san... I really am." The man before those at the table looked heartbroken, hands quivering with a guilty look in his eyes, "I took a – I needed to, had to – take a job from... f-from Gatō."
Fear spread through the gennin at a potential assassin trying to get a grab at Tazuna's head. Naruto readied his chakra, letting it give off a cool sensation in his fingertips but not completely activating it. Sakura had pulled out shuriken from underneath the table, jaw tightening in defense while their remaining teammate had yet to remove his hand from his kunai pouch. They readied for any attack.
Their client grits his teeth, though, hands tightening around his own mug of lukewarm tea, "Hoshimaru... kid, I've known you since you were a young boy and I know that you're not stupid. So, you better have a damn good reason to take a job from the one man that wants me dead."
"Tazuna-san, my kids... my wife, they were dying... we were all starving to death. I couldn't buy anything for them, couldn't give them the medicine they needed." Hoshimaru's eyes welled up with tears, bottom lip quivering as his hands came out to express himself a little more, "You couldn't pay us workers much but we all appreciated what you were doing, what you were sacrificing for our small town. However, I couldn't... there was no way I could continue building that bridge."
"Oh, Hoshi..." Tsunami looked heartbroken, hand laying over her chest in sympathy.
"Sero, my baby boy, he... he died last month." The rugged man took a shaky breath, a single tear slipping out of his eye, "As my wife and I were b-burying him, we were approached by Gatō and... he said he could give me a job, help my family so none of my kids would starve to death again... I couldn't turn him down."
"I'm... I'm sorry for your loss." Tazuna looked up, a little choked up himself but there was understanding in his dark eyes, "... but what was the job?"
Hoshimaru shook his head solemnly, sniffling quietly, "Dragging around crates of who-knows-what over the borders... illegal substances, I'd bet. Gatō pays me in food, just enough to sustain my family."
"Gatō..." The dark-haired woman looked down at her hands before giving the man beside her a slow nod, "What do you need from us? It sounds like you still need some help."
"He came to my house a few nights ago – Gatō, I mean – with these thugs a-and they... they grabbed my wife, pushed her to the ground. They grabbed my kids by their heart a-and threatened me. He told me to cooperate or they'll take her away and kill my k-kids." He shuddered, covering his eyes with his tanned hands, "He... that man wanted me to do my best to 'fix' one of Gatō's prized bandits and, if he dies, my family's lives are at a cost. I tried everything, but the man's wounds were too severe and I don't nearly know anything advanced."
"So, what is it?" Tazuna questioned slowly.
"My daughter came to me last night, said that you were housing a doctor of some sorts." Eyes widened from across the table, some glancing at each other, "I was hoping to ask for their help. Please, I'll... I'll pay you a-anything you want. I just... please."
Tsunami stood up, looking worriedly around their home and lowered her voice, "Where did your daughter hear this? Who told her?!"
"W-What?"
"Hoshimaru, no one is supposed to know about that," Tazuna stressed out painfully.
"Your boy – Inari, wasn't it? – hung out with her by the water yesterday." The light-haired man explained, looking between the woman and her father, "He said that you had a doctor."
"He is so grounded." Tsunami whispered out harshly, sitting back down stiffly. She gave an apologetic look towards the three gennin at the opposite end of the table, the glance going unnoticed by the newcomer.
Hoshimaru looked between everyone at the table, "Please... for my family, I need a doctor."
Silence filled the room, unsure what to do about their situation. Tazuna and Tsunami stared at the three kids with sorrowful eyes; they knew the cost of what could happen should Gatō found out that there were ninjas in their small town. They were fearful for them, especially their teacher still unconscious upstairs.
Naruto stood up after another moment of stressful silence. "Please let us deliberate on the matter at hand before we make our decision. We cannot be certain as to whether your words are true or not." Hoshimaru stared at the blond as he headed for the stairs, motioning for the others to follow him. The medic looked over his shoulder as his teammates as well as his client got up from their seats, "Do you mind waiting down here?"
"Of... Of course." The man blinked in inquiry at the boy's formal tone of voice. He wrung his hands for a moment, "I promise that I'm telling the truth."
"We will give you our verdict soon." The young gennin was already on the second floor, heading for the second guest bedroom – the one that didn't house their unconscious teacher. Tazuna and his daughter, as well as Naruto's teammates, followed him there without a word until they were situated inside the old room.
"So, what are you thinking, Naruto?" Sakura started out, sitting down on the old bed.
The medic turned towards Tazuna, "Gatō is the man who is after your head, right?" There was a small nod and a glance towards his daughter. "What are your opinions right now?" Naruto questioned, arms crossed over his chest, "Do you trust this guy's words?"
"Well," Tazuna started, "Gatō is a menace and always plans ahead but I've never met him in person, only seen pictures of him before. I've been told that he is a rather ruthless man and will stay true to his word."
Sasuke raised a delicate eyebrow, "And that means?"
"If he says he'll take Hoshimaru's wife for himself and kill the kids, he'll do exactly that." Their client stated, stuffing his calloused hands into his worn shorts, "He uses people's weaknesses against them and since Hoshimaru's was starvation as well as the fear of losing another one of his family members, Gatō will use that against him for as long as he's... useful."
Naruto nodded slowly, a calculating glaze over his eyes, "So, you're saying that you trust Hoshimaru?"
Dark eyes looked up, "He's never told a lie before, why would he start now?"
"There is more than one reason to lie." The medic thought to himself as he turned to look at his daughter, "And what about you, Tsunami-san? You call him by 'Hoshi' rather than his full name; you must have a deeper connection to him and his family because of that. What do you have to say about this? Is this something you might agree to?"
All eyes turned towards the dark-haired woman who shifted rather uncomfortably in her seat.
"I've known Hoshi since I was a young girl; we practically grew up together. I'd say that we're almost family at this point... he's like my older brother if you will." Tsunami gave a short chuckle, looking down at her clasped hands sitting still in her lap, "Father already said this but, I can confirm that Hoshi hasn't ever lied... to us at least. When we were young, he expressed how much he despised lying and always tried not to. It was something his mother had taught him when he was a boy."
Sakura leaned forward slightly, "That's... that's really honorable."
"Yeah." She hummed, giving her father a look, "And what I saw back there, at the table... that was all said with truthfulness." The dark-haired woman looked to be closing in on herself then, looking away. She must have been remembering something if her glazed eyes were anything to go by.
Sakura glanced between their client and his daughter a few times, "Could this all be a rouse? Something to get some of Tazuna-san's protection away from him."
"I'd thought the same thing." Sasuke agreed, "We can't be sure that Inari only mentioned a doctor; he may have said that ninjas were protecting his grandfather with descriptions of what our appearance was."
"Look, Hoshi's never liked to ask for help, so I truly believe everything that he's told us. He really must have tried everything that he could to help that bandit if he's crawling to us." Tsunami glanced up at the medic, staring into his sky-blue eyes with a ferocity of her own, "He's no doctor, Naruto, only has basic first-aid knowledge absolutely no experience."
"I see." The blond-haired medic stated before looking to his teammates with a calculating glaze over his eyes, "The final decision falls on you two."
"Why us?" Sasuke questioned, tilting his head to the side.
He thought for a moment before homing in on the Uchiha, "I'm all in to help anyone that needs it, but this isn't just an 'I'm-the-medic-so-I-can-do-whatever-I-want' thing. This could potentially be a trap and I need to know that everyone is on board with this."
Silence filled the room once more, engulfing them all in its depths of quietness. The potential for an ambush could destroy the team – if the enemy were to be lying and waiting to take out their medic who was their only source of first-aid. Without the medic to keep the team glued together, Team 7 might have to abandon their mission, leaving their client to the wolves; graves would be awaiting Tazuna's family if they left.
"Should I do this?" Naruto elaborated once more, punctuating his words with an elegance that hinted to his 'medic-voice'.
Sakura sighed deeply, glancing up once before going to stare at her hands, "There is a good chance that this might be a trap, you know, to weed out the ninjas in the town but it could very well be true... that if Gatō's best bandit dies because of his injuries, a family will be destroyed."
"And we don't even know if Hoshimaru is the only family that will be affected." The Uchiha besides her interjected then, the kunoichi going to look at him with a glint in her eyes, "Gatō's recruited dozens and dozens of people, right?"
"Oh, absolutely." Tazuna stated, "I wouldn't doubt it for a second."
Sasuke nodded, directing the words towards Tsunami, "Well, who's to say that your friend is the only one?"
"True." The blond-haired gennin nodded, "So... am I doing this?"
"I think that's fine but... with everything that could go wrong, you should have some backup with you at all times." The Uchiha sounded reluctant to agree, an observation that Naruto kept to himself as his teammate continued, "Whether it be me or Sakura, you shouldn't go alone... just in case, you know?"
"Of course." The medic uncrossed his arms, "And Sakura?"
"I's have to agree, too." She stated quietly, "We can't be for sure that an attack will take place when you get there so, one of us should go with you."
"Alright." Naruto pointed to the Uchiha, "I think you should stay here."
"Uh..." Sasuke tilted his head, a curious glint in his dark eyes, "Not that I mind but, why?"
"As of right now, I believe you have more energy between you and Sakura – no offense." He stated, giving the kunoichi a pointed look.
She raised her hands in defense, "None taken."
The blond-haired gennin nodded before waving a hand of emphasis for his next words, "So, in case this is just a ploy to get the only person with medical knowledge away from our client, you'll be here to protect them."
"But Naruto, I'd be the only one here and what if they bring ninjas? We had a tough time taking down Kakashi-sensei during our gennin exam – and he's only one Jonnin. Gatō probably has dozens of Chunnin-leveled shinobi at his disposable." Sasuke pointed out, a hint of aggression in his voice, "I wouldn't have any backup."
Naruto sighed heavily, the words 'Chunnin-leveled shinobi' making his stomach churn for a moment. While his battle with a rogue ninja had been quick, it'd definitely caught him off-guard – could have killed him if he wasn't a medic. What would it be like to fight much more cautious shinobi in groups, ninja who didn't have any ties to people – who weren't out for revenge on Naruto for murdering dozens of men in the forests – and were under strict orders to kill him?
He'd never last, it'd be his last moments on Earth.
"Look," Naruto began slowly, rubbing the back of his head for reassurance, "I don't know what to tell you. There are only three able-bodied ninjas here – if you can really say that." He turned towards his teammates, almost fully facing them. "Sasuke, you're still recovering most of your energy from being poisoned and Sakura's wrist still needs a day or two to completely recover from all the stress." He dragged a shaky hand through his hair, "I'm running on fumes at this point, so please deal with it."
The raven-haired Uchiha huffed, looking away but worry clung to his heart, "Fine, I'll watch the house."
"I'll leave you some clones so that-"
"No," Sasuke interrupted once more, shaking his head furiously, "don't waste your chakra on that. Save it for the bandit."
"You were just complaining about no backup, at least take a few and seal them." The medic pleaded, "It'd make me feel better."
That's all Naruto had to say for the other boy to start nodding, albeit a little solemnly, "Fine."
Naruto returned to make a gesture before heading for the door, "Come on, we've already wasted that man's precious time. I'm going to go grab my stuff, I'll meet you all downstairs." He left without an answer, crossing the hallway in two steps where all his medical supplies were still being housed in the room Kakashi was currently at. Footsteps sounded off on the stairs, talking commencing down there.
The blond-haired gennin rummaged through the room, pulling things off the table beside his teacher's bedside and stuffing them into one of the dozen pockets littering his medical bag. He looked to his teacher, "You're going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise."
Naruto went back to his bag, slinging a smaller one over his shoulder before prepping his other one. As he was zipping up one of the compartments filled with bottles of Lidocaine and other numbing agents, the teenager suddenly stopped, feeling a wave of dizziness plaguing him. "Shit..." He cursed quietly.
He's learned of a new side-effect of using booster pellets – using a large amount of chakra and/or energy throughout the time after ingesting one of those pills decreases the overall effect of the actual pill meaning that a person would have to use more than one for it to be actually effective in the long run.
The medic pulled the bag over his shoulders, securing it on his back as he stood back up on shaky knees. He promised his teammates that he would try to sleep once some of the previous booster pellets he'd taken earlier wore off – Naruto should have suspected the new side-effect then, he mused – however, he doubted that he'd be any help to the injured bandit if he was always dizzy.
With his resolve solidified, the blond-haired gennin reached into his pocket for another one of those pills, popping it into his mouth almost instantly afterward. It took a few seconds for him to feel the effects but once the dizziness seeped away from his weary bones, Naruto nodded to himself and headed downstairs.
Tsunami was doing her best to distract Hoshimaru, fussing over the man getting a bite to eat or have another glass of tea when the medic finally headed for the table. She smiled at him – an anxious one albeit, "Are you ready now?"
"Of course, Tsunami-san." He nodded, shifting the bag on his back, "Hoshimaru, it'd be best to formally introduce myself."
"Huh?"
The blond held out a tanned hand, "Naruto Uzumaki, medic of Konohagakure. I'm the one who'll be healing this bandit of Gatō's."
Shock coursed through the older man, hand reaching out to shake Naruto's as quickly as possible, "What, but you're just – wow, so young! A-Are you sure you're a doctor, I just-"
"Hoshimaru, please, I know what I'm doing. I'm just hoping that the trust that my team and I are putting in you is returned, that you trust that we are here to help." He explained quietly, releasing the man's hold, "I'm going to have one of my teammates escort us to wherever this bandit is."
"Of course."
He gave a short smile, pulling off his Konohagakure headband off his arm and setting it on the table, "Gatō and his men are to not know where we came from, is that understood, Hoshimaru? Fail to do so and our entire mission will be compromised."
"Yeah, sure." The older man mumbled out, still shell-shocked.
"Sakura."
"Already ahead of you." She had finished pulling it off her waist, her red combat-ready dress flowing much more freely now.
Naruto nodded, flying through some hand signs as a couple of clones popped into existence. They bowed to their creator, saluting towards him before taking a synchronized step backward. Within a flurry of movements, the two clones were sealed away in a carrier scroll. The blond-haired gennin handed it off to his teammate before giving a curt nod, "Well, shall we?" He waved towards the front door, Sakura standing up to follow the blond out.
"O-Of course." Hoshimaru scrambled to stand up, furiously thanking both the ninjas and Tsunami for everything they've done for him – the food and drinks – as well as what they'll be helping him with in the future – the healing of Gatō's bandit. Grabbing his jacket and slipping it on with haste, the older man followed the ninjas out the door.
Naruto hoped he wasn't making a fatal mistake, eyes scanning the area. However, he simply couldn't get this foreboding feeling to leave him.
:::^^^^^:::
The first thing that Kakashi could recall upon consciousness – of all things – was that Sasuke's birthday was coming up as well as the Chunin exams. It was a weird string of thoughts that procured the dates. The twenty-third of July would be when Sasuke finally turned thirteen – or was it fourteen? They grow so fast that he has trouble remembering. The first or second week of that same month would be when eager genin could participate in a ninja exam that allowed for them to bump up in rank.
A swell of excitement and pride pulled at his aching chest for - wait! – his chest wasn't supposed to do that.
The second thing that Kakashi was finally able to think of – what he could remember of... how long ago was this? – was that he was on a mission. Why is he on a mission if one of his kid's birthday is coming up or, for a matter of importance, why's he doing this with the Chunin exams just around the corner? Kakashi wonders in silence, thinking about what Sasuke would want for his birthday and if he'd like – huh... Sasuke...
Where's Sasuke?
The twenty-something-year-old man took a deep breath, could feel his ribs aching with just a little more force. Something happened to him who-knows-how-long-ago, but he simply couldn't remember; there's this thick fog covering over a layer of memories. Kakashi liked being able to say he had a pretty decent memory – able to remember even some of the more finer moments of his life, of the emotions or his thought process from some long-forgotten time – so the inability to remember what happened to him just made everything worse.
The silver-haired man tried to shake off the distractions pulling his string of thoughts this or that way. He tried to break it down, but he was distracted by the fragrance of something strong puncturing his heightened sense of smell. It wafted off in waves, powerful ones that made his nose scrunch up in discomfort. Kakashi tried again to concentrate, trying to simply settle on the whereabouts of one of his students. One of his students... more than one. Something stirred in his mind.
There's more than one student, right? That's what this had to mean, the whereabouts of one of his students.
More students.
The man gave an internalized sigh of frustration, a headache drawing blanks in his mind where perfect memories should be settling into place by now. He's got to break it down again; start with Sasuke, it suggested, think back to his birthday. There's something rubbing against each other in his mind, creating a friction that Kakashi could only assume was something coming back to him. Birthday, think back to the birthdays. One of his kids just had a birthday; who was it? What did she want? It was something specific, something that only Kakashi could get her because of his rank but he couldn't remember what it – wait! – her!
Her.
Her birthday.
The twenty-eighth of March.
It was the change of seasons from winter to spring when her birthday – who is she though? – took place. The green vegetation that Kakashi had been ready to see after a particularly bland winter had been late to take on its colors. He could clearly – well, maybe not clearly – remember that there were these pink trees filled with sakura blossoms. Usually, they would have decided to show their buds in the early weeks of January, but they too were a little late this year, not deciding to bloom until early March. Something about Sakura blossoms, pink, March... her.
The sakura trees.
It was Sakura.
Sakura.
Relief flowed through him, finally being able to recall another of his students. There was Sasuke and now there's Sakura – his kids. When had they become his kids? It seems like a sudden thought running through the Jonin's head right then. He wasn't married, didn't even want a lover of any kind; kids were probably the farthest thing from his mind right now.
Plus, he's on a mission right now.
Sleepiness pulled at his remaining strings of consciousness, something that tickled the back of his mind. Kakashi internally hummed, feeling the exhaustion starting to cover his tired muscles. Not only was his sudden lethargy from the physical aspects of... whatever happened to him, but he was still recovering from his sudden rollercoaster of thoughts, despite hoping for another breakthrough in his pause of memories. There was no breakthrough, though, just this gnawing on the back of his head that he's missing something – it's something definitely important because his stomach is doing that thing again.
Or maybe he's just hungry – when was the last time he ate again?
Kakashi thought back to his meal choice from before, remembering his small home off in one of the Jonin districts. The recollection of memories allowed the young man to procure an image of him munching on some cheese toast – a simple breakfast, really, he hadn't been that hungry – early one morning before a mission – what mission though?! He could remember drinking something – was it water or orange juice? – later that morning while stopping?
When did he stop? Where did he stop at? Why did he stop in the first place? What was he stopping for?
...who was he stopping for?
There was a sudden flash of memories, layering on top of a headache. Through the pangs of pain stabbing his temple, Kakashi could see that the retention was of a sweating child just gripping onto the strings of reality, a feverish kid who was injured. A boy with blue lips, breathing through his mouth because his nose refused to work anymore. Another pang showed his pale skin seeming to get a sickly color to it. His kid said something about being cold despite the fever clinging to him and the afternoon heat stabbing at the backs of their necks.
A boy with matted raven hair, dark and pitiful eyes closed in pain.
It was Sasuke. He was sick.
Kakashi's heart thumped with anxiety, unable to move from... wherever he was. Where's Sasuke? Is he around? Is he okay? He's got to be okay. The Jonin entrusted someone with Sasuke's overall wellbeing since he hadn't been able to provide his kid with the things he needed at that moment... whenever that moment had happened, that is. It couldn't have been Sakura – she was there right? – because she had looked sad then... why was she sad again?
Memories slipped from him, the fog more pronounced now. It made Kakashi's mind fuzzy, muddying his thought-process and simply making him sleepier as time went on. To anyone who asked – though, he doubted anyone had the time of day to ask about the inner machinations of his mind – he would tell them that he tried to fight the sleep off, but the man simply couldn't, too exhausted by his mind's adventures through the past. He still couldn't figure out how much time had passed as he zoned in and out of consciousness – was he even alive?
There was a quiet shuffling throughout his room – he was assuming at this point because Kakashi still wasn't entirely awake – that broke through his muddy thoughts. He felt consciousness creeping up on him for a moment, eyes still shut through his listening. The silver-haired man's hearing homed in on the noise, hearing as things slid across the floor and zippers were sounding off in that direction.
It stopped for a moment before a voice whispered through the silence. "You're going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise." It sounded way too familiar to be anything but a coincidence that this person knew his name. It sounded worried but confident, something that he felt like he should just know.
It was one of those sounds that you could hear out-of-context and still pinpoint who had said it. Those were words – that tone! – that Kakashi knew that he should, well, know. The tone, the slight shake of their voice at the end was something uncanny to people; it belonged to one person and he can feel his head tingling with the sensation of just knowing. Kakashi tried to desperately move his body to be just a little closer to the sound, to hear it once more.
If only he could pinpoint it, Kakashi could go back to sleep happy. However, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back, so he would fight to figure this all out.
The quiet shuffling turned into a loud tripping, someone stumbling through the room. The sound startled Kakashi's head so much so that it gave him a blinding headache for nearly an entire minute. It split his skull in half, the sound of something so loud just shattering the peaceful quietness that filled the fog with a bright and blinding light. Had Kakashi been more awake than just simply bleeding in and out of consciousness, he might have groaned and asked whoever was out there to shut the fuck up.
"Shit." A shaky voice whispered out, stomping over to one of the walls – again, assuming he's in a room or somewhere civilized – and messing with some type of cloth. There was a pregnant pause before a large crunch sounded off the walls – still assuming. The munching of... whatever was a little sickening to Kakashi as he felt like he was practically starving – maybe it's been days since the last time he's eaten.
Without another second, the door creaked – definitely somewhere civilized – and footsteps carried whoever down a set of stairs. Conversation floated from the floor underneath Kakashi, but he couldn't make out the words all that well. Frustration settled within him – who the hell was that? – as he desperately tried to comb through his memories.
Kakashi could feel his eyebrow twitch, something akin to furrowing his brows maybe? He wasn't all that sure that he had much control over his body with the fog still present over his brain. There was something he was missing that his stupid head wouldn't give the man access to. It was a name or a term, hell, maybe even just a simple action like...
Like a promise.
"You'll be okay, Kakashi-sensei, I promise."
That's what this mystery-person said with a shake in his voice and a worried tone overlaying it. It was the quiver of the 'p' in the word 'promise' but why does the whole 'promise' thing matter so much? It's like a bell went off in Kakashi's head, dinging furiously like 'Yes! That's it! Use this! This is it! It means something, I promise'.
But promises are a big thing, not anyone can just promise something.
Not anyone being...
...being...
A blank was drawn again, the fog turning his mind into a mush again.
The Jonin gave another internalized sigh of aggravation, taking deep breaths to ease his oncoming headache. He felt sick to his stomach – a worry he couldn't simply ebb away with every piece of information he was slowly collecting – but Kakashi simply couldn't make his mind work. He was anxious but couldn't figure out why. There was a pit of worry in his core but what was causing it? There are Sasuke and Sakura to ease his mental inquiries but there's another one – he can feel it – but who?
Who is it? Where are they? Where did they go off to? Why are they promising things if they know he can't?
Promise.
There was a promise there, something morphing together in a brilliant display of light at the end of the tunnel.
He can't promise. But who is he?
Why is he promising that Kakashi will be alright?
Promise... promise, promise!
Okay, he'll be okay, it's fine, he'll be alright, he'll be alright again, make sure he'll be okay.
"He'll be okay." The words flowed brokenly underneath the surface of Kakashi's own rushed thoughts.
"Can you... Can you promise me that he'll be okay?" Who'll be okay? Is it him, the mystery person who'll be okay? Or is it Kakashi, someone asking if the older man will be alright? Someone asked this same question. Did he ask this? Could it be Sasuke? No, Sasuke was sick – injured, his mind supplied – what happened to Sasuke?
"I'll do my best." Do his best. Who does their very best? There's one boy – Kakashi can feel it, he knows this boy – and he does his very best. But who? That voice was familiar; the name's on the tip of his tongue.
"You promise?"
Piercing blue-eyes seemed to wipe out the fog covering the Jonin's mind for good. "Sakura, as a medic, I cannot promise anything. I can only say that I'm going to do my very best to make sure that Sasuke gets better."
That's it. Medic.
Sakura's and Sasuke's medic, their teammate. The last of Kakashi's kids, his medic, his student.
The young medic with a bright smile and always tried to do his best, who couldn't promise anything because he wanted recognition from the village.
Blue-eyes cleared his mind again.
Naruto.
There's Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. An Uchiha, a Haruno, and an Uzumaki. They're genin under the tutelage of him, Kakashi Hatake.
And they're all on a mission.
Sasuke was hurt – poisoned, his mind corrected – and Naruto, being the great medic, tried his best but time was running out and Sakura was sad because her crush was sickly and their medic suggested running off.
Their group was split with his two boys heading for the woods while Kakashi took Sakura and their client – Taser or something, right? – towards the... water. There was water. Where is water? Kirigakure... no, they're not in a village; they wouldn't have that access. It's a wave... a large one with land. Land with waves – they headed for the Land of Waves.
Injuries. Pain. Blood and gore.
She's crying over him, nails digging into his torn shirt.
A cruel grin on a man's face, blood draining out his ears but the satisfaction in his eyes are uncanny – menacing, evil – before he falls to the ground. Who is he? Where did this masked guy go with their enemy? Why did everything go dark? Where is he? What happened?
He's hurting; lungs burning, crumbling underneath a broken cage surrounding his precious organs, blood's draining out of his mouth.
She's sobbing over him, "Kakashi-sensei!"
He's conscious but things are dark and he's hurting. He wants to sleep but she can't stop crying; his anxious heart cries out for her.
She cries for him.
Kakashi's eyes slowly opened to a discolored ceiling, yellowed from age with water spots here or there. Everything was too quiet, too... peaceful. It was nice to relax after his mind struggled through his memories. The silver-haired man gave himself a minute to collect his thoughts – properly this time.
On a mission that Hiruzen Sarutobi – the Third Hokage of Konohagakure – the Demon Brothers of the Mist attacked their group of five, specifically targeting their client, Tazuna. They went for him first as he represented a Jonin, something to be feared among lower-ranked shinobi, but he disappeared before he could be hurt. His gennins – Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto – fought the brothers off with everything they had to offer but the former of the three were injured.
Poisoned, more specifically, and if that didn't scare Kakashi to the bone... He couldn't manage to finish the thought.
The man remembered his student's condition worsening over the course of a couple hours, Naruto desperately trying his best to find a way around the problem. Sakura's constant worry still plagues his mind with what-ifs. And when the two boys finally left Kakashi's line-of-sight, his fear rates skyrocketed. The what-ifs returned.
What if they were attacked by bandits and bled out somewhere? He wouldn't know what to do with himself if two of his kids died.
What is Sasuke finally succumbed to the poison, leaving Naruto to grieve all by himself? Kakashi wouldn't know how to console the young medic about the grief he was probably feeling as he'd be dealing with his own sorrow.
What if they got lost, never to be found again? He would never stop searching for his kids, ever.
If he had to be honest with himself, his worries pulled his attention away from his surroundings at the wrong time. He and Sakura were attacked by a man by the name of Zabuza Momochi – the Demon of the Mist and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He truly was someone to be feared but that had never stopped Kakashi before and he wouldn't let it stop him now.
Within ten minutes, Zabuza had completely incapacitated him underneath the waves, drowning him right in front of one of his kids. Sakura watched with tears in his eyes, scared to move from her spot in front of Tazuna but, damn did she try to give the battle her all. Not once would she allow herself a break, fighting tooth-and-nail all on her own against a master assassin just to save his life.
With just the right shuriken, Zabuza was letting him go and allowing Kakashi some much-needed air as well as a power move against his opponent.
Together, he and his student battled against the tanned man, calling out strategies that they'd come up with during one of their many training sessions all those months ago. Kakashi remembers clearly that anytime Zabuza's sword came just a little too close, he'd push her out of the way, making sure she wouldn't be harmed.
In conclusion, Kakashi must have gotten hurt really bad because he was still feeling ghostly attacks on his skin.
He slowly sat up in the rickety bed, looking around with narrowed eyes. It was dark out if it was anything to tell by the lack of light coming in from the window. Medical equipment was spread evenly across the room, looking well-kept but used. It made his stomach churn a little bit with apprehension, tension settling into his back.
Kakashi glanced down at his uncovered chest, clad in only underwear. He gave himself a mini check-up, just to see what problems he was dealing with. With all the punches he took to the head – courtesy of Zabuza – the man guessed that he might have a concussion. From the bandages covering his torso from top to bottom, Kakashi could only assume that he'd either broken some ribs or was sporting some stitches at the moment – or both, it could definitely be both. And from the ache in his lungs, he could only guess that it was from his previous drowning.
The silver-haired man pulled back the covers to reveal dozens of bruises covering his arms and legs. On his right knees was a brace that put an uncomfortable amount of pressure there, probably broken if he was recognizing the brace correctly – he's broken enough bones to know.
Kakashi took a deep breath, simply taking the time to appreciate his life and Naruto's life-saving healing abilities – if he was assuming that the medic was the one to fix him up. He knew there was little he could do now that he was incapacitated – with injuries like these, yeah, he's not going to be doing anything extracurricular for a while – and that left for a fog of boredom to settle over him.
The creak of the stairs was sudden, the door opening to a sight he just hadn't been expecting then.
The walk was mostly silent as the three made their way towards one of the temporary houses that this bandit was being stayed in. Hoshimaru was the one who broke the silence often, asking questions or simply thanking them, such as now.
"Thank you both so much." The older man bowed slightly, turning to them as they walked.
Naruto shook his head, a hand waving for him to stand properly, "We haven't done anything yet, there really is no need to thank us."
They were quiet for only a moment before Sakura's curiosity caught up to her. "So, this bandit," She began, tilting slightly on her heels, keeping step with the rugged man, "what do you know about them?"
"Not much, unfortunately." Hoshimaru sighed out, giving the kunoichi an apologetic look, "He's got a rough background – I think – and is pretty scary in person. Dark brooding kind-of-guy who has a weird fascination with sharp things – creeped me out the first time we met. There's always this weird aura or something around him, scares me most days."
The kunoichi tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed in thought, "And Gatō's been employing him? Do you know how long?"
He thought for a second before shrugging, "Not long, I'd guess since I hadn't exactly heard of this guy in Gatō's cavalry before. Hell, besides me, I don't think anyone has ever seen this guy!"
"That's strange..." Naruto mumbled out, "I feel like if this is someone who's considered one of Gatō's 'best bandits', wouldn't he show them off?"
"Like a power play?" Sakura suggested, "Gatō kind of seems like a guy who'd want to flaunt his power."
Hoshimaru nodded, sighing slightly, "He is."
"Maybe this bandit was supposed to stay in the shadows, keep hidden but ended up getting injured?" The medic mused, more to his teammate than the man beside him.
"Probably." He shrugged anyway before an awed look filled his eyes, turning towards the blond-haired gennin, "Naruto, is it alright if I ask you something?"
The blond turned his head to look at him before nodding slowly, "Absolutely, what is it?"
"It's not that I'm doubting your abilities to help others, I'm just curious." Hoshimaru explained looking almost nervous, "I've already – kind of – said this, you know, earlier... but, um you're just really young. It's kind of hard to believe that you're a doctor."
Naruto shrugged, "Most people are – it's to be expected – but I just started learning at an early age and worked from there."
"Yeah, he was definitely something else when we were both in the academy." Sakura said with a soft smile on her face, pointing to her friend, "He used to heal papercuts that the kids would have and get rid of bruises or scraps we'd get after taijutsu training days. Everyone used to swarm him."
"They did not swarm me." The young medic huffed in annoyance but had the ghost of a smile, turning towards the rugged man, "What was your question though?"
"Oh." Hoshimaru blinked in surprise, "I was just wondering, well, why?"
"Huh?"
"Why did you become a doctor?" He elaborated.
Naruto thought for a moment, a hushed silence falling over them. "Well," He started, getting this faraway look in his eyes, "I didn't have a very good childhood and, as selfish as it might sound, I wanted to be acknowledged."
"Acknowledged?" Sakura questioned, having never really heard of her best friend's reasoning for becoming a medic, "Like for your talents?"
"No, no." He shook his head, "Just in general. I became who I am now because I wanted to be acknowledged as a person."
Hoshimaru gave him a strange look, "As a person? What does that mean?"
Naruto shrugged, turning towards him, "I'm a little curious about something."
"Shoot." He waved for the medic to continue.
"Since you were the first draft into fixing this guy, what were his injuries?" He questioned, keeping the conversation away from his less-than-perfect childhood.
Hoshimaru seemed to realize this, going ahead with the new topic. "I'm not entirely sure, there was a bit of blood here and there from cuts and a bunch of bruises. I don't know if he had any broken ribs or... anything else, sorry." The older man stated, looking down.
The blond-haired gennin shook his head, "No, that's fine. Most of that wouldn't incapacitate someone, only maim them so I'll have to do some in-depth searching for problems when I meet the guy."
"You can do that...?" The dark-skinned man blinked slowly, "Wait, don't you need to like, cut him up or something?"
A choked chuckle escaped the medic, lips curling into a grin, "No, no, no, never. All I'd need is just hover over his body and figuratively trace his anatomy for problems in the body like so..." His hand lit up green, a soft glow of color kissing the side of his face.
"Wow..." Hoshimaru awed, eyes wide with interest, "And that's with that ninjutsu stuff you ninja do?"
"Yep!" Sakura answered for him, "Medical ninjutsu is probably the coolest out of them."
Naruto smiled to himself at the indirect compliment, "I'd have to agree."
The rest of the walk was filled with a pleasant and warm silence. Even as they approached the degrading and overgrown building – most likely a hideout of sorts – the atmosphere was still nice. Getting through the security surrounding the building was easier than Naruto thought it would be. Hoshimaru was able to get through without an issue due to him already being seen inside the building more than a few times. However, because both Naruto and Sakura were foreigners, the bandits playing guards wouldn't let them pass.
"Ban, Morri, these two are friends of mine." Hoshimaru tried, motioning towards them, "They are helping me."
Both of them ignored him, turning towards the gennin. "State your business." Ban hissed out.
The medic stepped forward, holding his hand out, "I'm an aspiring doctor. I've been training for as long as I've been alive. I travel to small villages with my assistant to help people for free. Hoshimaru has enlisted my help."
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" The guards shared a laugh, turning to the side and letting the three inside the building.
Naruto nodded his head, "Thank you."
Both he and Sakura followed the rugged man inside, Hoshimaru showing them around a little bit before arriving at a door. "Well, this is where the bandit guy is." He motioned towards it with a hand.
The blond-haired gennin turned towards Sakura, "Hey, why don't you just stay out here?"
"Uh..." She blinked once before giving the medic a quizzical look, "Why?"
"Most patients don't like to have ninjas in the room due to the – what do I call it? – a pensive stare?" Naruto shrugged, "It's almost like they're being interrogated which could stress them out more and delay the healing process."
"I guess that makes sense." The kunoichi rubbed the back of her head, still a bit confused before glancing at him, "If you need backup, just flair your chakra a bit – like in an offensive way, not a healing way – and I'll be there in an instant."
"Thanks." He smiled genuinely, turning towards Hoshimaru, "Shall we?"
"Absolutely." The dark-skinned man headed for the door, knocking twice before pausing and knocking an additional three times.
Silence.
"Come in."
Hoshimaru turned towards the gennin, voice lowered for a moment, "Just stay out here for a little while. I'll let you in once I tell him the change of plans."
"That's fine." Naruto nodded, motioning for the older man to move on. He bowed before disappearing into the room. Turning towards his teammate, the medic took a deep breath, "You okay?"
"Huh?"
"Your wrist." He pointed to it for emphasis, "I meant to ask this morning but, you know..." Blue eyes pointedly stayed on the ground, Naruto's face showing just a bit of the exhaustion he was feeling.
Sakura smiled despite this, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It feels fine, just stings when I move it certain ways. It'll probably be gone by tonight, I'm sure of it."
"I'm glad." He returned the facial gesture, peeking up at her.
"What about you?" At his confused stare, she continued, "Are you okay to be doing this?"
Naruto thought for quite some time, mouth in a firm, thin line. His eyes searched the concrete beneath his feet for an answer, one that could satisfy his curious teammate. A storm of blue lightning locked eyes with the forest's depths in a pleading gesture. "I'm fine." His voice was a bit louder than a whisper, but the exhaustion he's had for the last few days still lacing his words, betraying Naruto.
"Promise?" Sakura whispered out, eyebrows furrowed in a knowing stare.
The door behind them swung open, a rather nervous Hoshimaru appearing before them. He turned towards the blond-haired gennin, "You're all good to go."
"Thank you," Naruto stated politely.
"Little warning before you go, though." The older man stepped out of the doorway, voice lowered once more, "He seems to be a little irked tonight, so I would be careful of what you say around him."
"That's no problem at all." He bowed slightly, turning towards his best friend, "I'll see you in a bit Sakura."
"Alright..."
Naruto took two steps into the room, shutting the dark wooden door behind him as he went. Without even looking up, the gennin swung his pack off his back and set it on an empty table, "Good evening, sir, my name is Naruto and I will be your home care provider for the time being."
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!" A voice growled, low and menacing with a bit of venom lacing the man's words.
The blond lifted his head, eyes looking over to his patient. There lies a tanned man bandaged from head to toe with splotches of blood here and there. Cuts and bruises litter his face – a split lip, bruised eye socket, broken nasal cavity, and a split eyebrow – but the hard frown marring his features stood out the most, the anger boiling in his eyes. The older man's dark hair lay matted against his head, soaked with sweat that had collected recently. He looked flushed, the medic concluded, fever most likely.
"I am not... 'fucking kidding you', sir." Naruto spoke slowly, turning his body so he fully stood in front of the man across the room, "I am the only one in this town who is capable of handling your injuries."
"Like hell I'm going to entrust my health to some snot-nosed brat like you." His patient hissed out-loud, looking like he was going to move off the bed and physically beat the gennin to death, "You're like eight."
A pale hand pushed the older man's shoulder back slightly, "Master, I really think you should lie down." The medic eyed the boy, having not initially realized he was there due to how quiet he'd been. He looked to be a bit older than Naruto – not by much, though – with long dark hair and a feminine face. However, the physical structure of the teenager's body shows him to be male.
"He's right," Naruto stated after a moment of silence, getting a strange look from the other teen. He quickly rolled up his sleeves, picking out some latex gloves from one of his inside pockets, "You seem to have a low-grade fever, most likely caused from the stress of your injuries and possible infection. Please lie down, I will not ask nicely next time."
His patient growled lowly, glancing between the medic and the pale boy at his bedside. Whether it was the fever that had finally exhausted him a bit or he had just decided to be a good patient, the rugged man lied down against the colored sheets. "Don't think I won't keep my eye on you, brat." He hissed out, albeit a little weakly, jabbing a finger at him.
"That's fine with me, so long as you don't interfere with the healing process." Naruto turned towards his bags, fiddling with some zippers for medications he thought he might need to give the older man, "Why don't you give me a rundown of what happened? The injuries you sustained would be nice to know, well, from what you've observed."
"There was a fight." A quiet voice perked up, drawing the medic's attention to the pale boy from earlier, "It ended in a tie, but he was severely injured. If I hadn't dropped in to help, he probably would have died."
"Is this true, Mr..." He motioned for the older male to speak.
"I'm not telling you my name, boy." He growled out, eyes glaring daggered at the gennin.
"Alright, Mr. Patient it is." Naruto raised his hands up in surrender, turning towards the boy who spoke earlier, "And the injuries?"
"He's broken a lot of bones – few ribs, maybe, three fingers but those could just be fractured – and he lost a lot of blood." The dark-haired teenager gave his master a long look before looking up, "However, one of the other bandits here was gracious enough to supply him some blood when the incident happened."
The medic nodded, pulling out different tools that he deemed necessary, swiping them with an anapestic wipe, "Anything else?"
The other boy shrugged, looking over to his master, "Just some cuts and bruises. The only other problem is the fever. I've tried my best to deal with it naturally, but nothing seems to be working."
"I see. I'm glad that you tried your best." Naruto smiled slightly, pulling out some scissors and walking over to his patient with them, "I'm going to cut away some of the bandages over the areas that seem to be bleeding despite this attack happening some time ago."
"Whatever, brat."
He moved towards the older man's ankles, slicing against the bloodied cloth. The bandage wrapped around his entire foot, climbing its way up his calf but was centralized around his ankle. "So, who'd you fight against that got you in this position?" Naruto questioned, honestly curious. The injuries were extensive, littering almost his entire body.
"Do you always have to ask questions?" His patient narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Can't you just do your damn job in silence?"
A chuckle nearly slipped passed the medic's throat, but he held back, finishing the cut, "If I stayed silent, I would know nothing about your case. I have to ask questions to be the best care provider."
The black-haired man snarled, "It was a rhetorical question."
"My apologies. I'm quite exhausted today." He tried to manage a smile for his patient before turning back to the injury, examining it with an inquisitive stare. "This wound..." He started, looking up at his patient, "were you stabbed through his ankle?"
Before Mr. Patient could bark out an aggressive reply, the pale teenager stepped forward, "He was. The enemy snuck up on him while on the ground."
Naruto nodded slowly before motioning towards the stab wound, "Well, it missed everything important. Though, you may feel some numbness in your toes once everything is healed but I assure you that it will be fine in a couple weeks."
"Whatever." Mr. Patient huffed out.
The medic tried not to let his patients leave him as he dug through his front jacket pocket. He pulled out a bit of thick gauze, unraveling it a bit. The quiet boy beside him gave Naruto a questioning stare, "What is that for?"
"Give me a second." Naruto turned towards his patient, "This is going to feel a bit weird, might even sting a bit." Without another pause, he slipped the gauze slowly through the hole in the meaty part of the man's ankle. A low hiss was heard just after. "The gauze will prevent any unnecessary bleeding and will help it clot faster for better healing." He informed before looking at the long-haired boy, "Every other hour, you should change the gauze – I'll leave some here with you when I go – and only stop once it looks like the bleeding has stopped completely."
"Alright." He watched as Naruto packed the gauze into the wound for a few seconds before speaking up again, "So regular bandages will not work on those kinds of injuries?"
The medic shook his head, pulling out a roll of thick cloth, maneuvering it around his patient's foot and ankle quickly and precisely, "No, it won't. It might help keep the pressure on it and slow the bleeding a little, but it won't completely help in the long run."
"I see."
"Well, that's done with." Naruto then turned his attention to the large-scale wound on Mr. Patient's chest, "What caused that?"
"Don't answer, Haku." The older man stated lowly, eyes looking up at the medic.
The blond-haired gennin stopped for a moment, "Sir if you're going to act like that, I will leave this room immediately and refuse to help you any further. I won't ask again."
Silence filled the room.
"What caused that?" Naruto's words were slow, precise.
"A stopped ninjutsu attack." Mr. Patient rolled his eyes, "I was able to divert it just in time before it went through my chest."
He took a moment to collect his thoughts, nodding to himself, "Thank you." The blond-haired boy took the scissors and quickly snipped away the bandages. Neither Haku nor Mr. Patient said anything throughout the process. Naruto pulled away from the stripes, getting a good look at the bloodied mess. "Was this attack also where you broke a few things?" He questioned, moving towards his bag for some larger anesthetic wipes.
"It was."
He nodded, taking the thin pieces of cloth and wiping away the blood covering Mr. Patient's chest. The injuries on the older man's chest were different from anything else he'd seen on his body. The diverted ninjutsu attack left a wide-spread wound with parts that looked to be infected. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concern. If this wound was infected, the toxins from that could have already reached Mr. Patient's bloodstream - maybe that's what caused his low-grade fever. He needed to get an in-depth look into this man's biology. The blond-haired gennin allowed the medical ninjutsu to crawl over his hand just a little bit over the man's collarbone, hoping he hadn't missed anything internal.
In a split second, the older man snatched his wrist, squeezing it in his fist. Naruto looked him in the eye, seeing rage and a dangerous emotion he couldn't recognize. Haku was moving behind him, the sound of something sharp being pulled out from somewhere. "You think you can come in here and falsely try to help me, huh?" Mr. Patient growled lowly, twisting the medic's hand a bit, "Think you can assassinate me, boy?!"
He hissed slightly, "What are you-"
The door swung open.
"Naruto, I felt-" Sakura's body stopped moving, her voice stuttering near the end. Dread and horror filled her widened eyes, a sickening feeling in her stomach.
The medic could feel Mr. Patient stiffen from where he had grabbed Naruto's wrist. "What's going on?" He thought to himself, unsure about the situation.
They watched as Sakura's face suddenly twisted in anger, a betrayed look in her eyes. "You!" She screeched, pulling out three shurikens just as quickly as someone can blink, "You attacked us!"
"What?" His voice was quiet, eyes widening in realization. Naruto couldn't think, couldn't hear the commotion beyond his subconscious. Sakura looked on furiously, screaming out accusations as Haku and his master prepared for another battle. The medic couldn't even bring himself to do anything.
He glanced down at the man who still had his wrist in a tight grip. Naruto couldn't have known, he tried, trying to find a way to counter his ignorance. He had never seen this man before in his life. There was no way he could have known that this was Zabuza, right?
There was no way he would have had the knowledge that this was the same man who attacked his friends, sending one of them into a temporary coma. He couldn't have known that it was Zabuza – Mr. Patient, his mind still called him – the same Zabuza he was trying to fix right now just so the man could get back up and try to slaughter them. All the exhaustion the medic faced, all the heartache that tainted his team's hearts... the cause of it was right in front of him.
Because of Zabuza.
Anger filled him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. It was the anger that Naruto used to get when the villagers stared at him, whispering underneath their breath. The one that flared at every insult thrown at him, the pain he felt from his loneliness.
The anger of unfairness.
"That's enough!" Naruto barked out suddenly, finding himself yelling over the commotion in the room. Eyes peered at him with sudden hostility, the grip over his wrist tightening painfully. He sneered in open resentment, hand flaring an electric blue, slicing open Zabuza's hand to the bone.
"What the fuck?!" The man cried out, jerking his hand away from the gennin as fast as he could. He glanced at his hand, watching as it pumped out the crimson liquid his body desired to keep.
Without a second's notice, the medic moved the chakra scalpel's glow towards the older man's throat, highlighting his face in a hue of blue. "No one move," Naruto growled out lowly, looking down at his patient with as much distaste as he could manage.
"Back away." Haku's voice was low, cautious.
"Haku, I don't think you understand the circumstances right now." He hissed out, taking a moment to give the teenager a look, "My hand is directly placed over a major artery in your master's throat."
"What?" Zabuza took a shaky breath, eyeing the blue glow coming off of the medic's hand.
He turned his attention to the older man once more, "If you so much as breathe the wrong way, you will bleed out within minutes. So, please, be a good patient." The 'or else' was left unsaid but everyone in the room could hear the threat as clear as day. Naruto eyed the ninjas in the room, "You have no control over the situation. Lay down your weapons or I'll kill him."
He watched the teenager contemplate for a moment, eyes bouncing between the medic and his master. After a few seconds, Haku's weapons were dropped and kicked across the room, "Have it your way."
"Good." He then turned his head towards his teammate, "Sakura, you too."
"What?! But, Naruto-"
"Now."
She gave him a wild look, eyes bouncing between the unarmed teenager across the room in the corner and then landing on the injured man locked in death's hold. Her hand shook around the shurikens, eyes debating on whether to kill them right here, right now. However, as Sakura was just about to engage in a fight, her eyes met Naruto's.
Pleading.
His eyes were begging for her to drop her weapons, to stop the fight before it even began. She stared for a few more seconds before putting away the shurikens, "I trust you know what you're doing." Did she really?
"I do." Naruto stated dangerously, "Now, we're going to have to set some rules."
"Rules?" Zabuza scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Mind what you say around me, I'm currently holding your life in the palm of my hand." The blond-haired man motioned towards the chakra scalpel, flaring it just a bit, "Don't speak to me unless spoken to."
Haku shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable with the lack of power they had over the situation, "What are the rules?"
Naruto turned towards the ninja, "You're going to answer all my questions. If you don't, I'll kill Zabuza within seconds – you'll go down in minutes."
"Is that it?" The older man glared holes at the medic.
"Did I speak to you?!" His chakra flared, making a paper cut against his neck. Zabuza hissed, anger in his eyes before finally deciding to quiet down. The teenager's eyes widened, begging his master to stay quiet.
Naruto took a moment to collect himself, "If you lie to me, I'll kill you both. If you try to harm me, I'll do everything in my power to completely mutilate you in the most painful ways possible. Refuse to cooperate and... do I even have to say it anymore?"
Silence.
"I guess not." He sighed, trying to keep his emotions in check, "Sakura, if you would like to stay, that would be fine. If not, please stand guard outside. Something tells me I might need a watchdog."
"I'll stay." She quietly stated.
Naruto nodded slowly, looking back down at his patient, "Do me a favor and stay still." At the man's silence, he went ahead and continued with his job. The blue hue of his chakra scalpel disappeared after a few seconds, turning back into the warm green it was before Zabuza interfered. He brought it close to the older man's neck, healing the papercut without a moment's notice.
"You really were just trying to help," Haku mumbled out quietly after the medic moved back a little bit, the healing palm leaving Zabuza's skin.
Naruto bobbed his head slightly, the teenager almost not catching it. "Had I not known about your involvement in their injuries," Eyes turned towards Sakura, "I would have healed all your wounds like this." Zabuza's eyes widened, a bitter look on his face. "Instead, you blatantly attack the only person who could have sped up your recovery tenfold." He sat back on a stool, looking over the bandages covering his patient's body, "I refuse to use any more of my chakra on you, but I cannot allow you to die so I will continue to be your doctor."
"Naruto... are you serious?!" Sakura hissed out, betrayal in her voice, "He's the one who hurt Kakashi-sensei and you're just going to-" She stopped herself before she could say anything hurtful.
"We'll talk about this later." The blunt answer took the kunoichi by surprise, the words voiced with an undertone of exhaustion.
"But-"
He twisted his head around, glaring holes into her skull, "If you continue to distract me, I will force you to leave this room whether you like it or not. Do I make myself clear?"
Sakura's jaw tensed, "Yes."
Naruto took a deep breath, reaching for the pair of scissors he had earlier, "If you attack me again, I'll stab these through your jugular."
"I won't," Zabuza stated quietly.
He gave the man a look but decided not to say anything beyond that. The medic went ahead and clipped away all the remaining bandages covering his body, getting them out of the way of the man's injuries. The room was tense, atmosphere filled with apprehension and dread. All Naruto wanted was to help someone in need and then take a nap.
Kami, what the fuck did he just get himself into.
There was a time, many years ago when Naruto remembered his life without the plaguing, daunting feeling of being stretched beyond your mind's capabilities. It was the lack of mental prowess that allowed for his naivete to follow him even after his toddler days. This dreaded and painful naivete for the world around him is what gave the medic a feeling of content or, more importantly, a life without stress.
He misses it so much.
He misses being able to run down the streets, ignoring every single person around him – it was just the wind in his air and his excited breathing, him. It was always him. Alone, isolated from the world but he was contented for so long.
Naruto missed it.
He remembers waking up alone – his parents had died long before he ever had the chance to have siblings – and hoping for a day where people didn't look at him wrong or say hurtful things to him. The quietness of his dirty apartment building with the creaky wooden floors and water that never ran hot brought him a sense of comfort. His isolated ways gave way to the birth of content.
Naruto misses being content.
People don't look at him the same way anymore, don't usher him out of buildings or throw rocks at him. They don't hurt him anymore, say something derogatory to him as he passes them by. People are kind now, acknowledging him for his abilities. They pay the medic to help them, to make sure no one dies in vain. With that money, Naruto was finally able to fix his wooden floors and pay his landlord enough to have hot water for the first time in forever. His old bed was replaced with something nicer, the old comforters burned to ashes. He bought candles to fill the atmosphere with something pleasant, other than the old mold that used to grow on his ceiling. His money allowed for fresh fruits and vegetables to enter his home without having to fight the seller for something edible. A desk was assembled in the corner and Naruto could finally buy new school supplies.
He'd been happy then but what he lost what he had.
Naruto used to be content, now, he can't even be happy for what he has.
He worked his ass off every day since day eight but had never been satisfied with what he had, what he'd learned so far. It was always 'you can do better next time', never 'you did a fantastic job just now'. The blond-haired gennin was always too hard on himself, never appreciating the things he had.
He stressed over the small things and found himself getting depressed over the bigger things. As he got older, Naruto finally realized that not all people could be saved, that some had to be left behind and that hurt him beyond all belief. He broke the rules of a medic countless times, was never punished for doing things wrong and was allowed to pass for being naïve. He's a hypocrite, never allowing himself to promise something for another but promises himself things he knows he can't keep. He hurts others when he'd been sworn to save lives.
He's a worthless medic, why do people keep relying on him?
Even now, as he cuts away the bandages surrounding Zabuza's beaten and broken body, he's holding onto his shambled mind while thinking of how he could have done better. Do this... do that... never do that again... stop that... you could never... why do you even try... there's something wrong with you... stop it... don't do that... do it... try again... worthless... stop doing that... why do you even try... something wrong... you're worthless... do this... don't do that... why... worthless...
"Kami, what the fuck did he just get himself into?"
Naruto is a terrible medic, he knows it in his heart but his head refuses to admit it. After nearly five years of his life spent on this one thing, he refuses himself to believe that he's a terrible medic. He's tried so hard for so long, could he just quit now? Forget everything that's led up to this point? Could he allow himself to just... let go? Only terrible medics would do that...
He looks to Zabuza, face blank and eyes dead. Why does he continue to heal this monster? He knows, logically, it's to complete this side-mission as to not harm another for someone else's wrongdoing but... But Naruto wishes to end this man right now. He wishes to use his chakra – one that he's sworn to use in hopes of healing another – and stop Zabuza's heart right then, slaughter Haku while he still has the chance.
He wants to hear Zabuza beg for his life.
He wants to hear the man recount his sins, recount them for harming the only family Naruto has.
For hurting them.
The medic looks away before his murderous rage consumes him again. He knows everyone is giving him weird looks, hoping for him to say something – a question of some sorts, no doubt – but Naruto has nothing. He's blank, brain dead on every account except for the physical aspect. His subconscious works for him, pulling away from the strands of bloodied cloth covering the man's body but he's still not there.
"I should see a therapist when we get back to Konoha." Naruto mused to himself, blanking going on cleaning and rewrapping the wounds, "Something's wrong with me."
No one would understand what he's going through though, he doesn't even understand it himself.
He lets his mind wander to the medics at home, the three who could help him with his medical wrongdoings. However, they probably aren't much better than a therapist poking and prodding him with invasive questions.
Terra would probably want to shush away his problems, help him bottle them up for some other time when she wasn't hugging him, pitying him. Chakochi is old enough to know the pain but she's always been one to keep her struggles secret. She wouldn't know healthy coping mechanisms even if she read them from a book. Yiruma is supportive but Naruto might lose his job at the hospital if he's having too many problems. Hiruzen would be the same way, giving him way too much time off from missions and his job.
The isolation would make him content but the sadness might kill him.
His team was obviously a no-go if Naruto ever decided to speak with someone about... whatever he was feeling or rather, what he's not feeling anymore. Sakura is a worry-wart and she's always been concerned about him, about what he sees as a medic. He always tried to reassure her but the kunoichi never takes it to heart. Sasuke used to not care about what goes on in the life of a medic until he injured himself late one night and Naruto let slip about the piles of bodies he used to see, for the blood that's been spilled and the lives he'd taken. And Kakashi...
Kakashi is like a father-figure of sorts to Naruto and he doesn't ever want to disappoint the man. He doesn't want to worry him; after everything Kakashi went through against Zabuza, he shouldn't have to hear his gennin spill his guts about his feelings. He's not strong enough to keep everything to himself and his teacher might not appreciate it.
Naruto sure knows that he doesn't appreciate him feeling this way either.
Medics are supposed to be flexible, able to hold everything in to do their job. He can't even do that right. He's worked so hard and for what? For people he cares about to get hurt, to be broken and slaughtered like animals while he stands on the sidelines wondering if he'd done everything right?
He's worthless.
The room is silent as the medic works on cleaning Zabuza's wounds, all eyes anxiously watching him. His eyes are distant, face slack without emotion. Sakura fears for her life, quivering in the corner with her fingers itching for a weapon but stops from doing so due to Naruto's earlier behavior. Haku stands similarly adjacent from her, shifting from foot to foot in a swaying motion, obviously tense with a foreboding feeling. Zabuza lays on the bed, holding his breath every now and then, too afraid that the boy in front of him might just take his life then and there.
But Naruto doesn't. He is stoic and silent, doing his job like a good medic that he's supposed to be. He has questions, sure, but Naruto's not even sure if his mouth will work to get the words out. His mind is stuffy, head a visage of something dark and broken. He can breathe but not really, he's drowning in something that he can't find.
He's content but stressed, upset... dead.
"Why were you employed by Gatō?" Naruto suddenly asked, mouth finally carrying some weight to it. The room startles to life, tension and apprehension leaking away somewhat at his words. He tugs a strand of cloth around the man's arm, tightening it a bit over the deep cut. The dark-haired man hissed quietly. "What is your job?" He asks.
Zabuza gives the teenager a look, eyes daring the boy to do something, "My job was to kill the bridge builder so that he couldn't finish the bridge." His dark eyes look to the medic's hands, hoping that the answer sufficed him enough not to take off his head.
Naruto didn't say anything for a moment, looking at his patient with dead eyes, "Why does it matter if Tazuna-san completes the bridge or not?"
"Gatō wants to have complete control over this town so that the people will forever be under his control." The injured man started, locking eyes with the medic, "If the bridge is completed, trade and money would be able to enter the Land of the Waves again."
"I see..." The blond-haired gennin stated, looking over his completed work with a critical eye, almost searching for any missed sections, "The wound on your chest is infected, you'll need some antibodies if you hope to survive at all. That'll help combat the sickness, but you'll need to stay well hydrated and get plenty of rest or your body will refuse to heal itself."
Haku takes a step forward, the kunoichi across the room stiffening a little bit. "How did it get infected?" He questions cautiously, eyeing Sakura a bit, fearful that he'd made the wrong move. This was, after all, uncharted territory without the advantage of having control over the situation.
Naruto thought about reminding him of the rules but could honestly feel the exhaustion filling him – he just didn't have the heart to care anymore. "The wound wasn't addressed as well as some of the other minor contusions." He waved a hand over the area for emphasis, "Zabuza had most likely been overexerting himself, not allowing for the area to heal on its own. And without medical ninjutsu, it will take longer for him to heal." Said man shrinks in his seat, obviously ashamed for ruining his one and only chance at being healed completely without relying on time.
"Where can we get these antibodies that you mentioned?" Haku tried again, hoping to keep the medic distracted from something more murderous.
"Local pharmacy but you can just have the bottle I carry with me." The medic motioned over to his teammate, "Sakura, do you mind looking in my bag for it?"
She nodded slowly, moving over towards it, "Which pocket is it in?"
Without looking at her, he motioned over to it, "It's in the front right pocket – the one at the top. It should be a yellow bottle with a white cap. It'll have oval gel pills in it."
Sakura followed his directions easily, pulling the bottle out and shaking it twice, looking inside it for a moment. She looked over to her teammate, eyeing the injured man just below Naruto. The kunoichi found that she didn't want to be close to Zabuza at all, a fear plaguing her heart and a sickness in her stomach. "Catch." She called out before throwing the bottle over to Haku.
The teenager caught it easily, blinking twice in surprise before turning his attention to the directions on the bottle. He read it carefully, taking what the pill bottle said to heart – this was, after all, one of the only ways to help his master once Naruto left. It was a twice a day pill that needed to be taken once every twelve hours with food. Side-effects were drowsiness and fatigue. "Thanks," Haku whispered out.
"Don't." Naruto stated, giving the teenager a strange look, "You are one of the last people I want to hear anything grateful from."
The dark-haired boy thought to himself for a moment before looking down, an almost ashamed stare in his eyes, "I see."
The medic nodded, sitting back on the stool, "Does Gatō know that a team of ninja attacked you?"
"Yes."
"Everyone on our team?" Naruto eyed the injured man.
"No."
"Then who?"
Zabuza looked up, "Only Kakashi Hatake, the Copy-Cat ninja."
He thought for only a moment, "Not even Sakura or, as you should obviously know, me and our other teammate?"
"Gatō knows that Kakashi was traveling with a gennin so obviously, there should be two more." He explained a bit, "However, he does not know of or about either you or your other teammate."
"Are you going to tell them about me once I leave?" Naruto questions seriously, the possibility of being known by his enemies being all too great.
The room was silent as Zabuza contemplated his answer. If he said yes, Naruto knew he'd probably have to expect an attack soon since the guards that allowed Sakura and him to enter the building might have already told Gatō of the newcomers. It would either be an attack or a job opening since it seems that Gatō does not have any trained doctors on hand. He could be approached at any second.
"No."
"No?" Naruto quirked up an eyebrow, obviously curious by the answer but not that surprised.
Zabuza shrugged, like it was no big deal, "I won't tell them you're on a team or that you're actually a combat-orientated medic, just that a doctor came and helped me out."
He tilted his head, an odd feeling in his chest, "And why's that?"
"Simply put," He started, the dark-haired man's face splitting in a grin, "you intrigue me."
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "That's it?"
"I respect you." Zabuza made eye-contact with the medic, holding his ground despite being bound up by bandages.
Sakura stomped her foot, anxiety creeping into her, "Naruto, you can't believe this guy! He's just going to tell Gato and his goons about you – they're going to come for us!"
The blond-haired medic took a deep breath, still staring into the depths of darkness that were his patient's eyes. He searched for a moment, "Do you swear that you won't let?"
"On my swordsman's honor." Zabuza nodded slowly.
"You can't trust him!" Sakura's eyes were wide with panic, taking a step forward towards her medic, "He nearly killed Kakashi-sensei a-and... and he-"
"Sakura, that's enough." There was no bite to his voice this time, just a bitter monotone speech coming from Naruto. No exhaustion, no begging eyes, just... just a voice telling her to stop it.
Sakura turned away from him.
Naruto looked between his patient and Haku, continuing to keep his back to his teammate, "Do either of you plan on attacking us once we leave?"
"I kind of can't now," Zabuza grumbled out.
"I meant after you're healed." He glared at the injured man.
"We still have a job to do." Haku answered calmly, hands clasped together, "If you stand in the way of our mission, you will have to be eliminated... even if you helped us."
Naruto nodded in understanding, looking down at the older man, "Zabuza?"
"Same thing."
He nodded more to himself than the others, "I see..."
"They should be eliminated now before they can cause any more damage," Sakura growled out, fire blazing in her eyes. Her hands itched by her weapons' pocket. Haku and Zabuza tensed at her words, glancing between one another before looking to the medic in an instant. Any wrong move now could start a fight; they prepared as much as they could.
"You are dismissed." The medic stated.
The kunoichi's eyes widened, "What?"
"Please leave the room immediately or so help me I will kick you out myself," Naruto said, standing to his full height.
There was something odd – older, her mind corrected – when she looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I... I can't just leave you alone with these- they're criminals, Naruto!" Sakura motioned towards them with her hand, frantically trying to make her teammate see reason.
"Sakura!" The medic suddenly shouted out, "I am beyond frustrated with you, leave now – stand by the door, I don't care – just make sure you don't let the door hit you on the way out." He turned slowly towards her, eyes fueled by an anger so uncanny of him. "We will talk about this later." Naruto growled out, a menacing sound that rumbled in his throat, "Do I make myself clear?"
She could feel frustrated tears rise in her eyes. Instead of continuing with this futile attempt at trying to get her best friend to see reason, she swiftly turned around, "Fine." With a slam of the door, Sakura was gone.
"I hate being like that but I guess it works sometimes." He admits out loud before turning towards the two once more, a strange stare in his eyes, "I'm sorry about that."
"It's... That's alright?" Haku tried, furrowing his eyebrows in thought, "May I... Would it be alright if I ask a question?"
Naruto turned towards his bag, starting to pack things up so that he won't have to do it later, "Go ahead."
"Why do you, even after you found out that your teacher was harmed because of my master, why do you continue to help him... to help us?" He asks the medic, voice quiet and unsure.
He paused while zipping his backpack, "The truth?"
"Yes."
"There is a man whose family is at stake due to your shortcomings. He was assigned to help heal you before me." Naruto started, going back to the task at hand, "He went to my client hoping for help only to find me. He wished for someone else to heal you, to help 'Gatō's best bandit' back onto his feet." The gennin twisted his head toward the two. "I'm doing this for him, for his family," The medic whispered out harshly, "If it were under any other circumstances, I would have killed you within an instant."
Zabuza snarled a bit, "Then why go on and say all that stuff about you killing us for attacking you?"
"Because, as a medic, you should always have a backup plan." He flashed a dangerous smile, "If you attacked me again, I would have killed you without a doubt. However, you forget that there is more than one way to make a death look on accident."
"What about that man's family?" Haku questioned, glancing between his master and the medic who held their lives in his hand.
"I would kill Gatō." Naruto stated, determination in his eyes, "No more innocent lives shall be taken due to that man, not while I'm here."
"I see." Zabuza nodded, more to himself than what the medic had said, "What now?"
"Now," The gennin made his way over to the injured man, "I've got a few things to say before I go." He looked Zabuza in the eye as he placed a single hand on the man's sternum.
"What-" His eyes flew wide open as pressure was placed directly onto that spot, the boy's chakra sending spikes through his nervous system. Zabuza clawed at his throat, gasping for breath.
"Z-Zabuza!" Haku cried out, frightened by what was happening. His hands quivered, anxious to do something quickly, "What are you doing?!"
"Relax, I'm not going to kill him, but I need you," Naruto leaned down, whispering his next words out harshly, "to listen very closely." Zabuza tried to nod but he was still trying to fight for oxygen. However, the chakra over his sternum refused to grant him this. "You attack my team or my client again and I won't be as friendly as I was before."
The injured man's lips were turning blue, eyes bugging out from his head. His vision swam a little bit, unable to breathe. He searched for Haku, begging the boy to do something but really, he'd be dead before the teenager could do anything. The precision over his lungs and nervous system successfully refused him any access to his desperately needed oxygen – Naruto made sure of that. Zabuza made a gasping noise, scratching at his throat frantically.
"Step away from the job or else." The medic growled out lowly.
"W-Wait," Haku blurts out, looking panicked, "We can't drop the job!"
Naruto increased the distribution of chakra, Zabuza looking like he might pass out, "And why not?"
"We need the money." He whispers out, voice harsh and desperate, "Please."
The medic takes only a moments' decision before retracting his hand from his patient's chest. Zabuza takes a deep breath, coughing it out while rubbing his neck. "How much is Gatō paying you for this one job?" Naruto questions, turning towards the other teenager.
"240,000 ryō," Haku replies instantly.
"Drop the job and I'll give you 500,000 ryō." He stated.
"W-What... But..." His eyes widened a degree before his shock was replaced by apprehension, eyeing his sputtering master, "How can we trust you to hold up your side of the deal?"
"You can't." Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair before turning towards his medical equipment, continuing to pack it up, "Medics shouldn't promise things they might not be able to keep. I try to do everything to the best of my abilities." His eyes go distant for a moment, remembering that he is a hypocrite who still finds it in himself to promise things.
"Then how do we-" Zabuza's words were interrupted by a fit of coughs, tears pricking his eyes from the force of it, "How do we know you're telling the truth and that you'll pay up?"
"I'm a medic... and a shinobi. As a medic, my duty is to save people's lives and as a shinobi, my duty is to finish my mission." He gave them an exhausted smile, zipping up the final pocket, "My mission is to protect the bridge builder and save the lives of my team. If I can do both by paying you two to leave us alone, then I will do my very best to pay up."
"Do you even have that much money on you?" His patient narrowed his eyes at the boy, "That's a lot of money to hold for a single mission."
"I always carry a little bit more on me since medical supplies cost a lot more than bread." He explained, "On missions like these where my entire team was out of commission for some time, my supplies were running a bit low. By having this money on me, I can purchase whatever I need now."
Haku crossed his arms in thought, "And you're just going to willingly give it up for the sake of us stopping our mission?"
"Of course."
Zabuza scoffed, "I don't believe you."
"Have I lied to you at all today?" He questioned, daring them to give him the wrong answer.
Silence.
"That's what I thought." Naruto slung his bag around his shoulder, securing it on his back, "Well, that's it from me."
"You're leaving?" Haku blinked in surprise.
"I told you, I'm not healing Zabuza with medical ninjutsu – you lost that right the minute I learned who you were." He pointed to the man on the bed, "I did what I can. Only time will tell if you heal."
The dark-haired teenager looked at the medic, "What should we do for the following days... regarding my master's health?"
"The only thing I can suggest is to have him drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest. He'll be up and running in about a week if he stops exerting himself too much." Naruto nodded to them, heading for the door, "And about the money, take that time to make your decision."
They looked up at him.
"Meet me on the east side of the docks after midnight once you're healed. I'll be underneath the bridge. I'll have your pay but, if you decide not to take it, I'll have your head instead." He tried a smile, something that might ease their hearts, "You don't have to decide right away but just know that I still hold your life in my hands and I'm not afraid to crush you."
"We won't make that easy." Zabuza scoffed.
"Good," He grinned, "I like a good challenge." Naruto opened the door and walked out without another word. Sakura was waiting for him, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her face. He shut the door behind him before making his way out of the building, his teammate following behind him closely but not saying a word. The medic didn't mind – he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening and needed a good few moments of silence to collect his thoughts.
It wasn't until they'd spoken with the guards – Ban and Morri, if he remembered correctly – about Zabuza's healing progress and watched as the building housing the criminals were in the horizon did Sakura finally speak.
"We need to talk." She stated out harshly, stopping.
"I said that we'd talk later." Naruto countered easily but continued to walk ahead.
"No!" The pink-haired teenager reached out, grabbing her teammates wrist and spinning him around swiftly, "We need to talk now."
He stood unfazed, crossing his arms as if what happened didn't bother him, "Fine. Talk."
Anger bled into her eyes in an instant, "I am so disappointed in you, Naruto. How could you?! That's the man who attacked us – put Kakashi-sensei into a fucking coma and hurt me – and you just go ahead and heal him-"
"I didn't use medical ninjutsu on him, Sakura." Naruto sighed out, "You're being irrational."
"YOU STILL HELPED HIM!" She screeched, tears pricking her eyes, pointing in the direction they'd just left, "You betrayed our team by helping them." The girl barred her teeth in frustration, obviously not wanting to cry. "Why did you do it?" Sakura growled out, staring him in the eye, "Why do it if you know that they are just going to come after us?"
"It was my job." He said without missing a beat. There was a glare in his eyes, something that festered up from her speaking to him like that. It was the gnawing at his chest and the shambled pieces of his mind being grounded into a powder.
In an instant, she pushed him. Naruto stumbled a bit but did not fall. This only seemed to anger Sakura further seeing as how she kept coming at him. "No!" She screeched, hitting him again, "It wasn't your job! You're our medic a-and... you're not a bad guy so why heal the enemy? Why help them at all? Why did you stop me from just ending those guys right then and there?" Tears streamed down her face, guilt, and pain hidden behind the cloud of fury in her eyes. "Why?!"
Naruto grabbed her wrists quickly so that she couldn't hit him anymore. "Sakura." His voice was soft, the one that used to sound so comforting to her, "Sakura, I need you to listen to me."
She tried to desperately pull her hands away from him, glaring holes into the boy, "Let me go!" The pink-haired kunoichi continued to try to get out of his grip.
"I didn't want to help them." He answered slowly, loosening up his grasp a bit, "My job was to help Hoshimaru by healing them. Did you forget that that was the whole point of going over there to begin with?"
"I..." Sakura sniffled, looking down in shame but the anger still would not leave her, "I... I just- that was Zabuza a-and..." Her nostrils flared out, eyebrows furrowed in an aggressive stare. "You..." She swiped her arms away, pulling them close to her body, "You still helped him. I... If I was the one who had to do that, and you were attacked by that man, I... I would definitely have killed that guy."
"But you're not me." Naruto tried, standing shocked, "...Sakura, if he died then Hoshimaru and his family would have-"
"Yes, I know, they would have been killed." Sakura huffed, eyes rimmed with tears, "...but you had him, Naruto." Her voice was a whisper now, voice filled with a venom. "He... All of our problems would be solved if you would have killed him." She furrowed her eyebrows aggressively, "Now he's going to heal and kill us all."
"That's not true." He tried desperately. Fear and shock coursed through him; he's not sure what to do now.
"It is true!" She stomped her foot, pointing a finger at him accusingly, "If you had just killed Zabuza, we wouldn't have to worry about some lunatic killer with a sword coming at us looking for revenge. We are all going to die and it's all your fault!"
"Sakura-"
"No, I don't want to hear it!" The kunoichi screeched, walking past him quickly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks – how long had she been keeping this to herself, he mused to himself.
"Sakura, please-"
"Leave me alone, Naruto." She covered her mouth with her hand, "I don't want to see you right now or ever." The pink-haired teenager sped off towards Tazuna's home, sobbing her eyes out.
He watched her go with wide eyes. He searched in a subconscious panic. Was he wrong? Should he have just ended Zabuza, killed him without a moment's notice? Should he have made that man beg for his life as he'd hoped for?
Worthless...
Naruto grit his teeth, fleeing towards the woods, going the opposite way from Tazuna's house. He needed to get away – too much, it was all too much, why... why is he like this – he had to get away from everything. Sakura hates you... why do this... you should be doing that... stupid... worthless... you're fault... why do you always do that... you should have killed him... stop that immediately... you could never kill him... why do you even try... there's something wrong with you... stop it... don't do that... kill him... try again... worthless... stop doing that... why do you even try... all your fault... something wrong... you're worthless... do this... don't do that... why... worthless...
Worth nothing.
Worth nothing at all.
You're just worthless.
Worthless.
"I'm worthless," Naruto whispered out, leaning against a tree. He slid against it until he was sitting on the moist ground.
How did it get to this point, this deep sadness cutting into his brain like a parasite? Why does it affect him so much? Why does he keep screwing up? It was his fault, the reason as to why Zabuza gets to continue breathing despite everything he'd done to his team.
The first time he saw Sakura – battle-ridden and hurting from what that man did to her – he was so beyond angry. There was a fury, an anger that came from something he adored being tarnished and hurt. The way her wrist twisted in an odd angle – she was hurting so badly! – and the blood that clung to her face made him sick to his stomach. Naruto felt the urge to use all his chakra on her, to heal her so that the pain would no longer plague her.
She stopped him – well, actually his clone – by a simple shake of her head, tears in her eyes, "Don't worry about us. It's... oh Kami, it's Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi...
Naruto could feel the guilt coiling in his stomach again, ducking his head into his knees where he held himself as tightly as he could. "I'm sorry..." He found himself whispering out loud.
The man had been unconscious then – he's in a coma, Naruto reminded himself bitterly – and was pained even while not physically being aware of his injuries. The green glow of medical ninjutsu no longer felt soothing or comforting to Naruto anymore, the idea of anything like that putting a queasy feeling in his stomach. His chakra searched through Kakashi's body, finding everything wrong with it.
Kakashi was drowned, slashed down the chest by Zabuza, bruised and beaten beyond belief, and cut up from the inside. He could have died had Naruto not done everything he could for him.
But was that even enough? His teacher is in a coma for who-knows-how-long. Naruto estimated that he might wake up tonight or tomorrow morning but what does that even matter? He's probably wrong anyway... worthless...
Naruto could feel his eyes watering.
This entire mission has just been one painful rollercoaster after another. First, there was Sasuke's poisoning. Then came his clone's second summoning, them working on Sakura, Tazuna, and Kakashi, making sure none of them succumbed to their injuries. The clone poofing out of existence, forcing Naruto to relive the stress a second time. Working on the three of them once more to make sure his clone hadn't missed anything extremely important. The lack of sleep, his exhaustion plaguing him throughout the days. Zabuza... and now Sakura.
There was a time, before this mission, when Naruto enjoyed making trips between his home and the hospital or the training grounds, working with patients or with his team. It brought him joy, destroyed the afflicting, intimidating feeling of crumbling underneath the pressure. He allowed himself to enjoy the wonders of a boyfriend, exploring his sexuality and learning to love someone of the same gender without being judged or prosecuted for it. He was allowed to continue to further his medical prowess by access to locked parts of libraries, hospitals, and even Hiruzen's own personal library. It's what gave the medic a feeling of peace.
He misses it so much.
He misses being able to run down the streets with stores in mind, waving to patients who had finally healed or seeing friends on the side and stopping to chat for a minute or two. It was no longer just the wind in his hair or his excited breathing, no longer just him. It was everyone helping him reach his goal, cheering him on. It's no longer him. He's not alone anymore, will never be isolated from the world; he's at peace with everything. Naruto missed the feeling.
Waking up was a pleasure then, even if he wakes up alone. Naruto finds that he no longer has a problem with being an orphan – Kakashi made up for it, as well as Sakura and Sasuke – and often got ready for the day with a smile on his face, excited for what will happy today. The quietness of his nearly-perfect apartment is filled with the warmth of joy and a brightness that he could never compare it to something. His isolated ways gave way to the birth and growth of peace.
Naruto misses being peaceful.
He misses being someone who didn't purposefully kill someone in cold blood. It was better – correction, it was easier to deal with – when patients at the hospital passed away on their own terms or didn't survive their injuries or diseases. He'd never really killed someone – he may have pulled the plug on a few patients, keeping it together in front of his patients' families who sobbed around their bedside.
"Those bandits you've got littering the forest were my friends. I was traveling with them and you've cut down every single one." He'd been silent, frozen when he watched that ninja in the forest take his last breath, shuddering it out with a shake before collapsing onto the forest floor just like every other bandit he'd killed. Naruto remembers the blood of those men on his hands, on his clothes.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course."
He's a worthless medic, why do people keep relying on him?
Even now, as he sobs his eyes out, finally able to cut away the stitches over his shambled mind, Naruto thinks of how he could have done better. Do this... do that... never do that again... stop that... you could never... why do you even try... there's something wrong with you... stop it... don't do that... do it... try again... worthless... stop doing that... why do you even try... something wrong... you're worthless... do this... don't do that... why... worthless...
"Kami, what the fuck did he just get himself into?"
As Naruto's eyes start to slide shut with the efforts of several days' worth of exhaustion, he feels himself crumbling underneath it all. He knows now that he is a terrible medic, knows it in his heart but his head refuses to admit it... as always.
That's okay... he's come to terms with it. And as he falls unconscious he thinks...
Worthless.
A worthless medic.
