*******
The village was horrific looking at first, but quickly it began to recover. There were burials and village cleansing, so it was not a happy time for everyone to spend the days after just being either fighting or entrapped in a demonic fountain. This was not their idea of spending their time, but it also reminded them of the misery of the fighting, and how it could have been even worse.
"Hello. Apollo. how are you doing?" Tsunade calmly replied. Apollo and everyone else was basically brought to the infirmary for healing purposes, yet most were recovering quite quickly.
"The fountain was destroyed by her right?"
"Yup. she is very unique." Tsunade eyed Apollo carefully, "What were your reasoning behind.. .Saving our village."
"I do not know. I never had any family except my sisters. they were the only ones that I learned to grow up with. in reality were aren't all actually sisters. but that is how we think of ourselves. there are men in our village evidentially, but they are beaten and looked down upon. the main reason their there is for the sake of reproduction. it is amazing how different our civilization was from around other places. I didn't like it. the way the woman were so controlling. it scared me. I just didn't like it. and after watching what they have done all these years. I just knew it was wrong. foolish I guess. but as you can see. I wanted to escape the life I was forced to live. I guess this is just the village. that Artemis attacked first." Apollo laid her hands in her lap, "But are the other's alright?"
"Yes. I thank you for lending me your healing powers. without you I doubt all of them would be recovering so quickly.. Especially Kiba's wound. he's walking already!" Tsunade then started to turn away to walk from the room.
"Hokage."
"Yes?" Tsunade turned her head slightly. "You are truly a remarkable person." "Not really." Tsunade shook her head, laughing to herself as she exited the room.
******
"Where are Sasuke, Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru?" Tsunade started to question the other group of shinobi that were stuck in the hospital.
"About Ino and Shikamaru.none of us know." Everyone agreed, nodding slowly as Neji added, "We all haven't seen them since yesterday."
"Sasuke and Sakura well." Naruto looked down slowly, "They were both quite injured. but they won their fights. kinda."
Everyone except Shino and Kiba looked at Naruto. Instead they both had their heads lowered solemnly, more evident on Kiba who to begin with was not talkative whatsoever, still in shock.
"Sasuke took off with Sakura's. dead body. that's all I know." They all gaped at Naruto. Sakura was dead?! This was obviously news to them. Tsunade just gave a soft smile instead of gaping and walked out the door, saying nothing else. What else could she say. she had high hopes for Sakura.? Sakura always reminded Tsunade a bit of herself.
"Are you kidding Naruto?!" Tenten cried.
Naruto just shook his head back and forth breathing slowly.
****** "Well anyway. we should really sent out a search team I mean-" Tsunade was crouching in front of a team of ninja. They were discussing sending out a search party for finding the lost shinobi. "Hey" "Speak of the devil." Asuma looked behind him to see who had just spoken. Ino's arm was swung over Shikamaru's shoulders. They were both badly bruised but they seemed to be in good enough condition so that attendance in the hospital wing was not immediately needed.
"And when did you two get so close?" Asuma jokingly raised an eyebrow. In a matter of seconds both of them were blushing, standing about a foot away from each other.
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru added, his faced turned the opposite way to hide the expanding flush that spread across his face.
"That's my son!" Nara Shikato threw his arm over his on and gave a teasing grin.
"Stop it dad!" Shikamaru muttered through his gritted teeth and his reddened face. "I bet Sakura will be disappointed to find out she doesn't have a rival for Sasuke!" Ino gave a bit of a laugh, trying to join in on the fun, but no one laughed. "Um. Ino." Slowly she was pulled to the side and the group of adults explained what happened to Sakura. She shrunk and slinked to the ground. Shikamaru stood next to Ino and held out a hand that she grabbed onto, for support. "Awww.. How sweet!" Naruto chortled, his head held high in the air laughing haughtily. "What are you doing out of the hospital Naruto!" Iruka yelped, "Get back in there!" "Aww. Master Iruka, for the last time! Lighten up!" He cocked his head over to Ino and Shikamaru, "So where've you guys been? I know you've been 'busy' a lot Shikamaru, but I had no idea." Snapping his hand away from Ino's he growled up at Naruto, reeking of embarrassment, "Shuddap." It was for the best, that they kept an optimistic attitude, even though so many had died, and it had made many shed tears, but they had to keep going, as the unanimity of the Konohagure Village bolstered their bond. "Hey, Naruto. you could at least introduce me!" The same melodious voice of Apollo's had a sweet tune to it now. She seemed to act now like a normal kid should, although she still would drive people crazy with her riddles and reciting poetry on a normal basis. "Oh yeah! This is Apollo." Naruto pointed to Apollo softly with his thumb, smiling as happily as ever. Apollo swerved into an elegant bow as she flashed a smile at them. "Welcome Apollo! I'm Ino, and this here's Shikamaru. Don't let his grumpiness scare you off, that's just the way he is at times." "Thanks." Shikamaru rolled his eyes sarcastically. Ino nudged him and narrowed her eyes, giving a smug grin,
"Don't worry.it's from the heart."
"I bet it is." Shikamaru slumped, giving up on trying to defend his position. "Ahh. tis sweet when young lovers unite." Apollo clasped her hands together and fluttered her eyelashes dramatically. Naruto and the rest of the shinobi started to roll with laughter, "Now that's funny!" "Well Naruto." a hand landed on his shoulder, "I don't think I would be laughing right now. Romeo."Neji gave a wide grin. "What?" Naruto looked up at Neji for one second and then he looked the opposite way quickly, "Oh yeah. hehe. right.." He scratched his head, pink subsiding on his cheeks. "Right" he added in a faint whisper. Hinata looked away too who was coincidentally right next to Neji, who was also next to Shino, Tenten, Chouji and Lee. "Where's Kiba?" Tsunade looked back and forth between the large group. "Kiba. said he wasn't feeling well." Hinata added softly. "He's been in a bad mood since we left." Tenten murmured slowly, rubbing her sandal in the dirt paths. Shino stared absent-mindedly to the distance, trying not to particularly be a part of that conversation. He knew all too well what was going on. "He's being a big baby. he lost a competition that he didn't have confidence in, in the first place." Neji broke the awkward moment with a drawn look, "Hinata. I think what he really needs is for you to ask him for the truth. so people can at least acknowledge the torment he is going through." "Naruto. you should talk to him too." Shino muttered softly, feeling it was necessary to add that in. Everyone turned to the two of them in slight confusion, everyone else was clueless. Though, it made sense why those two knew. Shino was probably the closest friend of Kiba's and he was on his squad. Best friends could usually tell a thing like that, and Neji. well Neji just had a knack for figuring out those types of things. After a long drawn out pause, Hinata and Naruto started to walk back to the hospital wing, not really quite sure what was expected of them.
***** His vision was blurry. A sensation tingled in his fingertips as he rubbed his forehead with circular motion. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Kiba growled from between his gritted teeth, banging his fists against the blatantly white mattress. "Ki.Kiba?" Hinata gasped softly, her eyes widened, surprised by Kiba's actions. "Hinata!" Kiba stopped banging his fists instantly and turned to face Hinata, swallowing hard. His head slightly turned to the curtain that Hinata was behind and he suddenly narrowed his eyes, "What's he doing here?" Naruto fumbled out from behind the curtain and stepped in along with Hinata. He focused nervously on Kiba, "We need the truth. what's going on?" Kiba was about to refuse right away but then Hinata uttered a simple word, "Please," making Kiba stop dead in his tracks. He gave a low mumble and faced out to the pale cement wall, not trusting himself enough to explain it to them while talking to their faces, "You won Naruto." "Huh?" Naruto arched an eyebrow, shaking his head in confusion. "I. I really liked you Hinata. I really did. a lot. and Naruto eventually found out that you felt the same way, except for him. I lost." "Kiba." Hinata whispered helplessly, "I. had. no idea." "Why doesn't anything work out for me? Just for once I'd like to be the outstanding and surprising one. Naruto and I have always been compared. and, you surprised everyone by beating me. You surprised everyone by beating Gaara. You shocked even Sasuke. You beat Neji. you accomplished so much and look at me. the one thing that I wanted that I thought I might have had an upper hand. well you took it away Naruto." "Kiba. Snap out of it! Get a hold of yourself for god sake! Instead of trying to get pity, why don't you work towards a new goal? And what is Hinata? Some type of prize? I'm sorry that things don't always work out for you. And maybe you don't appreciate that because you were always loved and supported and pitied by your parents! Maybe you're so used to getting pity that it just works for you! Well you know what? It won't work on me. If you want a pity party go someplace else." Kiba's head snapped back to face Naruto and Hinata, the anger inside of his bursted like a bubble. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm so much trouble." Hinata murmured as she took off speedily. "Matte!" Naruto called after Hinata and took after her without much thought. Kiba was about to get out of the infirmary bed but he then collapsed back onto his pillow with a smirk on his face. This was his battle no longer. It was Naruto's turn.
****** Chapter 15 End To be continued..
The village was horrific looking at first, but quickly it began to recover. There were burials and village cleansing, so it was not a happy time for everyone to spend the days after just being either fighting or entrapped in a demonic fountain. This was not their idea of spending their time, but it also reminded them of the misery of the fighting, and how it could have been even worse.
"Hello. Apollo. how are you doing?" Tsunade calmly replied. Apollo and everyone else was basically brought to the infirmary for healing purposes, yet most were recovering quite quickly.
"The fountain was destroyed by her right?"
"Yup. she is very unique." Tsunade eyed Apollo carefully, "What were your reasoning behind.. .Saving our village."
"I do not know. I never had any family except my sisters. they were the only ones that I learned to grow up with. in reality were aren't all actually sisters. but that is how we think of ourselves. there are men in our village evidentially, but they are beaten and looked down upon. the main reason their there is for the sake of reproduction. it is amazing how different our civilization was from around other places. I didn't like it. the way the woman were so controlling. it scared me. I just didn't like it. and after watching what they have done all these years. I just knew it was wrong. foolish I guess. but as you can see. I wanted to escape the life I was forced to live. I guess this is just the village. that Artemis attacked first." Apollo laid her hands in her lap, "But are the other's alright?"
"Yes. I thank you for lending me your healing powers. without you I doubt all of them would be recovering so quickly.. Especially Kiba's wound. he's walking already!" Tsunade then started to turn away to walk from the room.
"Hokage."
"Yes?" Tsunade turned her head slightly. "You are truly a remarkable person." "Not really." Tsunade shook her head, laughing to herself as she exited the room.
******
"Where are Sasuke, Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru?" Tsunade started to question the other group of shinobi that were stuck in the hospital.
"About Ino and Shikamaru.none of us know." Everyone agreed, nodding slowly as Neji added, "We all haven't seen them since yesterday."
"Sasuke and Sakura well." Naruto looked down slowly, "They were both quite injured. but they won their fights. kinda."
Everyone except Shino and Kiba looked at Naruto. Instead they both had their heads lowered solemnly, more evident on Kiba who to begin with was not talkative whatsoever, still in shock.
"Sasuke took off with Sakura's. dead body. that's all I know." They all gaped at Naruto. Sakura was dead?! This was obviously news to them. Tsunade just gave a soft smile instead of gaping and walked out the door, saying nothing else. What else could she say. she had high hopes for Sakura.? Sakura always reminded Tsunade a bit of herself.
"Are you kidding Naruto?!" Tenten cried.
Naruto just shook his head back and forth breathing slowly.
****** "Well anyway. we should really sent out a search team I mean-" Tsunade was crouching in front of a team of ninja. They were discussing sending out a search party for finding the lost shinobi. "Hey" "Speak of the devil." Asuma looked behind him to see who had just spoken. Ino's arm was swung over Shikamaru's shoulders. They were both badly bruised but they seemed to be in good enough condition so that attendance in the hospital wing was not immediately needed.
"And when did you two get so close?" Asuma jokingly raised an eyebrow. In a matter of seconds both of them were blushing, standing about a foot away from each other.
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru added, his faced turned the opposite way to hide the expanding flush that spread across his face.
"That's my son!" Nara Shikato threw his arm over his on and gave a teasing grin.
"Stop it dad!" Shikamaru muttered through his gritted teeth and his reddened face. "I bet Sakura will be disappointed to find out she doesn't have a rival for Sasuke!" Ino gave a bit of a laugh, trying to join in on the fun, but no one laughed. "Um. Ino." Slowly she was pulled to the side and the group of adults explained what happened to Sakura. She shrunk and slinked to the ground. Shikamaru stood next to Ino and held out a hand that she grabbed onto, for support. "Awww.. How sweet!" Naruto chortled, his head held high in the air laughing haughtily. "What are you doing out of the hospital Naruto!" Iruka yelped, "Get back in there!" "Aww. Master Iruka, for the last time! Lighten up!" He cocked his head over to Ino and Shikamaru, "So where've you guys been? I know you've been 'busy' a lot Shikamaru, but I had no idea." Snapping his hand away from Ino's he growled up at Naruto, reeking of embarrassment, "Shuddap." It was for the best, that they kept an optimistic attitude, even though so many had died, and it had made many shed tears, but they had to keep going, as the unanimity of the Konohagure Village bolstered their bond. "Hey, Naruto. you could at least introduce me!" The same melodious voice of Apollo's had a sweet tune to it now. She seemed to act now like a normal kid should, although she still would drive people crazy with her riddles and reciting poetry on a normal basis. "Oh yeah! This is Apollo." Naruto pointed to Apollo softly with his thumb, smiling as happily as ever. Apollo swerved into an elegant bow as she flashed a smile at them. "Welcome Apollo! I'm Ino, and this here's Shikamaru. Don't let his grumpiness scare you off, that's just the way he is at times." "Thanks." Shikamaru rolled his eyes sarcastically. Ino nudged him and narrowed her eyes, giving a smug grin,
"Don't worry.it's from the heart."
"I bet it is." Shikamaru slumped, giving up on trying to defend his position. "Ahh. tis sweet when young lovers unite." Apollo clasped her hands together and fluttered her eyelashes dramatically. Naruto and the rest of the shinobi started to roll with laughter, "Now that's funny!" "Well Naruto." a hand landed on his shoulder, "I don't think I would be laughing right now. Romeo."Neji gave a wide grin. "What?" Naruto looked up at Neji for one second and then he looked the opposite way quickly, "Oh yeah. hehe. right.." He scratched his head, pink subsiding on his cheeks. "Right" he added in a faint whisper. Hinata looked away too who was coincidentally right next to Neji, who was also next to Shino, Tenten, Chouji and Lee. "Where's Kiba?" Tsunade looked back and forth between the large group. "Kiba. said he wasn't feeling well." Hinata added softly. "He's been in a bad mood since we left." Tenten murmured slowly, rubbing her sandal in the dirt paths. Shino stared absent-mindedly to the distance, trying not to particularly be a part of that conversation. He knew all too well what was going on. "He's being a big baby. he lost a competition that he didn't have confidence in, in the first place." Neji broke the awkward moment with a drawn look, "Hinata. I think what he really needs is for you to ask him for the truth. so people can at least acknowledge the torment he is going through." "Naruto. you should talk to him too." Shino muttered softly, feeling it was necessary to add that in. Everyone turned to the two of them in slight confusion, everyone else was clueless. Though, it made sense why those two knew. Shino was probably the closest friend of Kiba's and he was on his squad. Best friends could usually tell a thing like that, and Neji. well Neji just had a knack for figuring out those types of things. After a long drawn out pause, Hinata and Naruto started to walk back to the hospital wing, not really quite sure what was expected of them.
***** His vision was blurry. A sensation tingled in his fingertips as he rubbed his forehead with circular motion. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Kiba growled from between his gritted teeth, banging his fists against the blatantly white mattress. "Ki.Kiba?" Hinata gasped softly, her eyes widened, surprised by Kiba's actions. "Hinata!" Kiba stopped banging his fists instantly and turned to face Hinata, swallowing hard. His head slightly turned to the curtain that Hinata was behind and he suddenly narrowed his eyes, "What's he doing here?" Naruto fumbled out from behind the curtain and stepped in along with Hinata. He focused nervously on Kiba, "We need the truth. what's going on?" Kiba was about to refuse right away but then Hinata uttered a simple word, "Please," making Kiba stop dead in his tracks. He gave a low mumble and faced out to the pale cement wall, not trusting himself enough to explain it to them while talking to their faces, "You won Naruto." "Huh?" Naruto arched an eyebrow, shaking his head in confusion. "I. I really liked you Hinata. I really did. a lot. and Naruto eventually found out that you felt the same way, except for him. I lost." "Kiba." Hinata whispered helplessly, "I. had. no idea." "Why doesn't anything work out for me? Just for once I'd like to be the outstanding and surprising one. Naruto and I have always been compared. and, you surprised everyone by beating me. You surprised everyone by beating Gaara. You shocked even Sasuke. You beat Neji. you accomplished so much and look at me. the one thing that I wanted that I thought I might have had an upper hand. well you took it away Naruto." "Kiba. Snap out of it! Get a hold of yourself for god sake! Instead of trying to get pity, why don't you work towards a new goal? And what is Hinata? Some type of prize? I'm sorry that things don't always work out for you. And maybe you don't appreciate that because you were always loved and supported and pitied by your parents! Maybe you're so used to getting pity that it just works for you! Well you know what? It won't work on me. If you want a pity party go someplace else." Kiba's head snapped back to face Naruto and Hinata, the anger inside of his bursted like a bubble. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm so much trouble." Hinata murmured as she took off speedily. "Matte!" Naruto called after Hinata and took after her without much thought. Kiba was about to get out of the infirmary bed but he then collapsed back onto his pillow with a smirk on his face. This was his battle no longer. It was Naruto's turn.
****** Chapter 15 End To be continued..
