I realized that I made several mistakes regarding time and such in this story. I'll correct them later on, but for now I'm going to adjust the story as the way it should be.

War of Love

Chapter 6: Recovery

A light rain pounded upon the roof of the Konoha hospital. Today it was even more crowded than usual, with dozens of injured Leaf shinobis being treated here. Medical ninjas ran about inside, supervising and conducting surgeries. Even Tsunade and Shizune had come down to help. Many lives had been lost in battle and now wasn't a time to let any more slip away.

Deeper in the hospital, connected to life support, lay Sentoki Shin. After returning to Leaf, Shin had fallen into a coma. No one knew when or if he would wake up, but one person did have faith in him. Hinata sat by his side and laid her head down. She hadn't left Shin for three days now. So many people had been lost and several more might not make it. Shin was on the threshold of life and death right now. Despite the fact that most of his wounds had healed, not including his hands, something was keeping the shinobi from awakening. Even Tsunade was perplexed as to why Shin remained unconscious. But there wasn't much they could do at the moment except wait.

In another part of the hospital, surrounded by ANBU guards and several jounins, another patient was in his bed. But this one was restrained to keep him down. Tsunade stood above the bed as the young man simply glared at her.

"We went through a lot of trouble to save you, Uchiha Sasuke. Many people also gave their lives for you."

"I didn't ask to be saved by the likes of you," Sasuke spat.

"Oh? So you wanted Orochimaru to take over your body?"

Sasuke didn't respond and looked away.

Losing her temper, Tsunade grabbed hold of Sasuke's collar and nearly tore him out of the restraints.

"You don't seem to understand anything," she snapped. "When Orochimaru couldn't take over your body, he took over Kakashi. In order to keep you safe, Naruto had to kill his teacher and friend. Do you feel no remorse for that?"

"A pity I didn't do that. It would have simply helped me achieve my potential."

Throwing him down, Tsunade did her best to contain her anger. "You want to become stronger? In the time that you spent with Orochimaru, did you really become stronger? Without your curse seal, Naruto and Sakura would have defeated you, and they were holding back to keep from killing you. Even with your curse seal, you couldn't overcome the poison that Sakura had made. And what's more, despite your claim that only superior shinobis can survive the curse seal, Shin, a shinobi that still can't fully control his bloodline limit destroyed the seal Orochimaru put on him. Does that put things into perspective for you?"

Sasuke refused to answer and Tsunade turned away in disgust. There was no getting through to him right now.

"As of now, your fate is still undecided," said Tsunade. "Many of the feudal lords and several other jounins are pressing for your execution. At the moment, I'm holding off on that. However, if you give us any more trouble I won't hesitate to order it."

Again Sasuke ignored her words Tsunade let out a sigh and walked out of the room. There were other matters to attend to, including a comatose Shin and an emotionally devastated Naruto. Shin was a shinobi from an ally country and Naruto was very much like her little brother. She wasn't about to let him beat himself up for doing what was necessary.

"Tsunade-sama."

"Huh? Oh, Shizune. Something wrong?"

The medical ninja shook her head as she kept pace with her teacher. "I wouldn't say something is wrong, but it is interesting. I was examining Sentoki-san earlier when they brought him in. This is the first time we've ever had the chance to see how Orochimaru's curse seal affects a body. But from what I've learned, Sentoki-san wouldn't have survived."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that the curse seal unlocks the person's chakra reserves, flooding their entire body. This can have detrimental effects on the person unless they are strong enough to survive the initial stages. As the chakra infiltrates every system in the body, it can almost burn the internal organs. Sasuke-san was strong enough to survive, but Sentoki-san's body is different."

"Different?" said Tsunade. "How much different can it be?"

Shizune gave her a look. "Tsunade-sama, in all my years as a medical ninja, I have never seen anything like it."

With that Shizune handed Tsunade a journal.

"These are my observations," she said. "You'll want to look over them. But if I'm right, it seems that Shin's action in destroying the curse seal was forced out of desperation. If he didn't, it is likely the curse seal would have killed him."

"All right," said Tsunade. "I'll look over this later. Right now I'm going to have a chat with Naruto."

"How has he been?"

"Sleeping a lot," Tsunade answered. "Sakura's been helping him as best she can but she's also spending some time with Uchiha. Not that I see much use for that."

"I see. Tsunade-sama, do you think Uchiha-san will be a problem?"

"He already is a problem. Uchiha refuses to admit defeat and until he does so he won't be of any help to Hidden Leaf. If it comes down to it, I may have to order his execution."

"But Tsunade-sama! What about his friends?"

"I'm not sure he sees them as friends anymore, Shizune. I don't want to do this, but my duty as the Hokage is to protect the village."

Shizune remained silent as she walked with Tsunade through the hospital. Hidden Leaf had lost almost a dozen chuunins as well as two jounins. Hidden Sand had suffered even greater losses. However, as two of the most powerful shinobi villages, their alliance remained unchallenged, especially considering they had wiped out another Hidden Village that had threatened them. For now they would have the peace needed to recover.

Moments later Shizune moved off to continue her work. Tsunade entered the room where Naruto was resting and found Sakura sitting by his side. The shinobi nodded to her teacher but kept her attention on the resting young man.

"How has he been sleeping?" Tsunade asked.

"For most of the day," Sakura answered. "I think Naruto is trying to keep from waking up."

Tsunade nodded. "Sakura, go try and talk some sense into that boy. I need a few moments alone with Naruto."

Sakura knew full well who 'that boy' was. Even now, Tsunade wasn't too happy about losing Kakashi in this operation. Sakura also felt a bit resentful towards Sasuke for everything he had put them through. With a simple nod Sakura walked out of the room, leaving Tsunade with Naruto.

As the premier medical ninja, Tsunade had many tricks to wake up patients, especially those that didn't need sleep. However, at times like this she chose to be more direct. Tsunade brought her fist down like a boulder and it might very well have broken Naruto's neck if he hadn't jumped out of the way.

"What the hell was that for!" he screamed. "You could have killed me!"

"So you weren't asleep," said Tsunade. "But then again, would you really have left yourself get killed?"

Naruto said nothing and simply stood there.

"You did what you had to do, Naruto."

"I killed him," Naruto shot back. "I killed Kakashi-sensei. How can you say I had to do that!"

"You didn't kill him. Orochimaru did and you killed Orochimaru. That is what happened. Why can't you understand that?"

"I couldn't help him! I trained for over two years and when it happened, I wasn't able to do anything."

"Wrong," said Tsunade. "You were able to free Uchiha. Not only that, you defeated one of the most dangerous missing ninjas that Konoha has ever faced. That was a war, Naruto. There are casualties in war. No matter how great your power, sometimes people die. But the greatest insult to their deaths is if you make them meaningless. So pick yourself up and be a man. Kakashi died to protect Konoha. Act as Konoha's guardian in his place, Naruto."

Naruto lowered his head and sat back down on the bed. "I dream of being the Hokage. That means protecting the village and its people."

"It also means knowing how to deal with losing people you care about," said Tsunade. "Every day I send people out on missions, knowing that some of them might not come back. Though I love every single member of this village, I can't coddle them. People only grow through hardship. Can you do the same, Naruto?"

Slowly, Naruto nodded. As much as he didn't want to think about it, Tsunade had made a good point. With some effort Naruto forced a smile onto his face.

"Hey, Tsunade-obachan. When did you learn how to make speeches like that?"

"Hmph. Don't make presumptions, Naruto. I am the Hokage after all."

The two shared a laugh and the moment lingered. But the momentary peace was quickly disrupted when Shizune opened the door.

"Tsunade-sama! Sentoki-san is awake!"

The franticness in Shizune's tone said it all.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade immediately asked, the smile disappearing.

"Come quickly!"

Naruto found the energy to follow them and the three ran down the hallways. When they got to Shin's room, three ANBU members were already outside.

"What's going on?" Tsunade demanded.

"Hokage-sama. We sensed a large amount of chakra from this room."

"Move out of the way!" Tsunade ordered.

When she opened the door, all of them just stared. Shin was standing shirtless in the middle of the room and going through hand seals at an incredible rate. Hinata stood at the side but she didn't seem afraid of what was going on.

"Sentoki!" Tsunade shouted. "What the hell are you doing!"

A second later Shin clapped his hand together. "Genesis of Fate!"

Blue chakra burst out from his hands and the bandages were blown away. The deep cuts dripped blood and a puddle began collecting around his feet. But slowly the bleeding stopped, though the gashes remained. Upon completion of the jutsu, Shin immediately collapsed. Hinata ran over quickly and caught him before laying him back on the bed. Shin was breathing hard but was still conscious.

The three shinobis could only stare as Hinata pulled out more bandage wrap and some herbs. Tsunade was the first to speak.

"What the hell did you just do!"

"Please don't be so loud," Hinata said, catching the three by surprise. "Shin-kun woke up a few minutes ago and said he had to do that. His hands wouldn't stop bleeding and he said this was the only way to stop it."

Naruto walked over and looked at Shin. The young man had closed his eyes again but kept breathing heavily.

"Yo, Panda Eyes, what the hell was that jutsu?"

"Was it a healing jutsu?" Shizune asked Tsunade.

The Fifth Hokage shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it before, but I know it's not a healing jutsu. No, the chakra didn't even touch the cells of his body."

"Then how did he stop the bleeding when even we couldn't?"

"A good question," said Tsunade. "Shizune, stay here with Sentoki and find out what he did once he's gained enough energy to speak. And help Hinata with his wounds. It looks like he reopened a few when he used that jutsu."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

With one last glance at Shin, Tsunade grabbed Naruto and pulled him out of the room. Before he could protest Tsunade closed the door behind them.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked.

"That's what I intend to find out," said Tsunade. "Sentoki is hiding many things from us."

Tsunade walked off, clutching the book that Shizune had given her. Perhaps the answer lay in these pages.

It took little time to reapply all of the bandages that had come undone. But by the time they were finished, Shin had fallen asleep again.

"He must have used up all of his chakra for that jutsu," Shizune commented.

Hinata nodded. "Shin was desperate. He said he could feel himself dying and that was the only way to stop it."

"Dying because of the curse seal?"

"I don't know," said Hinata. "But I believe Shin-kun. He wouldn't have risked something like that unless he really was in trouble."

Shizune nodded. Though she still didn't know much about Shin, she wasn't sure how far her trust went. Shin's body was different from anything she had examined before. It had to be another adaptation around their bloodline limit. There were many mysteries that surrounded the Sentoki line. Why was it that so few people even knew of them? As the Hokage's assistant, she had gleaned some documents from Hidden Waterfall. Though they weren't high on the list of names, someone of the Sentoki family always signed these messages.

"From what I heard, Sentoki-san managed to defeat one of Orochimaru's greatest jutsus," said Shizune. "He's an incredible young man. You're certainly lucky to have him."

Hinata blushed. "It's not like that, Shizune-san."

"Oh? Sentoki-san seems to think the world of you. Don't you feel something for him?"

"I'm not sure," Hinata replied. "Shin-kun reached out to me, but I don't know how I feel."

"You said you believed in him, right?"

"Of course!"

"Well then, what is it that you believe in him?"

Hinata couldn't find an answer and remained silent. Until she had one, Hinata knew that her heart wouldn't rest.

Tsunade finally found a spot where she could sit down and look at the report. Though she normally avoided doing serious work, in cases such as this she wouldn't hold anything back. After reading through the first page of Shizune's observations, Tsunade froze and became completely unaware of anything except what was on these pages.

"That's impossible," she muttered.

By the third page Tsunade began wondering whether Shin was really human or not. Even though Shizune couldn't see the inner coils system, she could still gain a basic idea of that person's system because of her medical training. However, apparently Shizune hadn't even been able to find that system. That is, until she looked at another place.

Tsunade closed the book once she finished reading the log and rubbed her forehead. This was becoming more and more of a headache. Once Shin was conscious enough to answer questions, she was going to grill him for answers. But right now she had to see if Sakura was making any progress with Sasuke. Out of all the shinobis, Sakura was the most likely to break through.

Tsunade dropped the book into a pocket and walked back to Sasuke's room. The ANBU members continued to patrol, taking note of her presence but not letting it interfere with their duties. They were all good shinobis. Nothing would get in or out without their permission.

The moment Tsunade opened the door she could hear yelling. In fact, she had heard muffled voices ever since entering this part of the hospital. Now with the door open, the intensity multiplied.

"Kakashi-sensei gave his life to save you!" Sakura screamed. "Shin-san's in a coma and several other shinobis died for this mission. What right do you have to be so arrogant about all this!"

"You didn't save me from anything," Sasuke shouted back. "I was getting stronger, far stronger than I would have become if I had stayed in Konoha."

"Stronger? For what? So you could kill your friends?"

"You got in my way," said Sasuke. "If you hadn't come, that battle would have never taken place."

"Yes it would have! You know what Orochimaru wanted to do! He wanted to destroy Konoha! If we hadn't come, he would have tried again."

"If Konoha fell, it would have been your fault for being too weak."

A sharp sound echoed in the room as Sakura struck Sasuke. Though she used her normal strength, the slap left a deep red mark on his face.

"And how have you gotten stronger?" Sakura demanded. "Has the curse seal really made you stronger?"

"You would not have been able to defeat me on your own," Sasuke said confidently. "It took two of you to match my strength. In the end, you needed your comrades to defeat me. That's evidence enough."

"So you'll continue to use the curse seal and let yourself die? How are you supposed to revive your clan then?"

"What's the point of reviving my clan if he's still alive?"

Both stared at each other, neither backing down.

"Well, that was quite a show you two put on."

Sakura broke out of the glare and finally noticed Tsunade.

"Sh-shishou…"

Tsunade nodded to her apprentice. "Sakura, from now on it'll be your duty to watch over Uchiha. Do not let him get out of control."

"Yes Shishou."

"As for you, it's time we did something about that curse seal."

Sasuke glared at her, as if daring her to try.

"Though I cannot remove it like Sentoki did, I can ensure that it will be absolutely useless."

Tsunade walked over and went through possibly a dozen hand seals. Without the Sharingan activated, Sasuke wasn't sure what she was doing. Suddenly she slapped her hand down on the curse seal. It activated and Sasuke screamed out in pain. The green healing chakra surrounded the curse seal and moved inward. It seeped into each of the three dots and those too began glowing. However, a few seconds later the green light disappeared and to Sakura's surprise the curse seal went with them. Sasuke stopped screaming and immediately fell unconscious.

"Shishou, what did you do?" Sakura asked.

"Thanks to Sentoki, we know a little more about the curse seal," said Tsunade. "The curse seal is a poison mixed with Orochimaru's blood. There isn't really any way to remove the blood, but any poison has its antidotes. I simply changed Sasuke's body chemistry to neutralize the poison naturally. He won't be able to use that seal for more power anymore."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Tsunade-shishou."

"Look after him well, Sakura. Even without the Sharingan, Uchiha is dangerous."

With the major matters taken care of for the day, Tsunade left the hospital for her office. There were still preparations for the memorial service to be taken care of.

Rain was pounding away at Hidden Leaf the next day, reminding many of the funeral held for the Third and all those who died in the first battle against Sound and Sand. Shin looked out the window and felt the wetness surrounding the hospital. It felt almost like home, though the water Hidden Waterfall was more serene.

Hinata walked in moments later, carrying his breakfast. She set the tray down across Shin's lap and smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Shin replied. "It doesn't feel like my body's on fire anymore."

Hinata took a seat next to her fiancé and watched him eat.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked. "You performed a jutsu even though you were really hurt. That was really dangerous."

Shin stopped eating and put the chopsticks down. "I didn't want to die."

"What?"

Shin looked sadly at Hinata. "I guess it's my family's curse. That jutsu I used damaged my fate. If I hadn't done something yesterday, I doubt I would be alive right now."

"Then why did you use that jutsu?" Hinata asked.

"Because I didn't want you to die either," said Shin. "If we hadn't defeated Orochimaru, no one would have survived. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself for not doing everything I could. Besides, that's what shinobis do, isn't it? Risk their lives?"

Hinata was speechless for a while as Shin resumed eating. However, she did find the word she was searching for.

"Thank you."

Shin nodded and put the tray aside. He had eaten less than half of the food but it was still hard finding enough energy to stay awake for very long. Despite that, tears soon came out of his eyes again.

"Shin-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know," Shin muttered. "Whenever I'm strong enough to stay awake this long, the tears come. I can't stop myself."

"You're safe now," Hinata assured him. It felt weird to be trying to calm someone else, but Hinata didn't want to see him in pain like this.

"I don't want to die. But I saw death."

Hinata froze. "What?"

"That jutsu is called the Shinigami for a reason," said Shin. "And I saw Death. I wonder if my siblings and my father all saw it when they used the jutsu."

"But you're alive, Shin-kun," said Hinata. "You're with me right now."

"For now at least. There's another reason why that jutsu isn't used very often."

"Oh?"

"I said my fate was damaged when I used it. No matter what, fate cannot be completely repaired. Who knows how many years I just shaved off my life."

The words struck her. "What?"

"It's the curse of my clan. My father is currently in his forties. He's said it himself many times. He doubts he'll see his fiftieth birthday."

"What?"

Shin shrugged. "He's been forced to use the Shinigami several times and I've only used it once. But I did it in a rather clumsy way, so I don't know the full effects."

Not finding any words, Hinata suddenly found herself hugging Shin, knocking the tray to the ground. The young man was surprised to say the least.

"Hey now, it's not like I'm going anywhere soon," he said as he returned the hug.

"Why do you have that kind of fate?" Hinata asked, tears of her own forming.

"I'm not afraid of my fate," said Shin. "Besides, I intend to live a long life with you."

"No, you won't die because of your fate," Hinata said stubbornly. "You'll die of old age. You won't die because of some stupid jutsu!"

Shin smiled and took the time to enjoy the embrace. Though he had always cared deeply about Hinata, it was nice to see her feelings finally returning the love.

"Naruto-kun taught both me and Neji-niisan something," said Hinata. "It's that you make your own fate. You can do that too, Shin-kun."

"I hope you're right," said Shin. "Hmm, I guess that Naruto isn't so bad after all."

With those last words Shin felt himself drift off once again. It would be a while before he fully recovered, and until then unconsciousness would always conquer him. Hinata laid him back down as he closed his eyes and wiped away her tears. As long as she was alive, she was determined to make a difference. Maybe she could make one in Shin's life.

As Hinata went about cleaning up the mess, the door opened and Tsunade entered.

"I see he's still asleep again," she said.

Hinata nodded. "Shin-kun is still recovering from using the Shinigami."

"That must be one hell of a jutsu if it did that to him."

Again only a nod. Hinata wasn't about to tell Tsunade what Shin had confided in her.

"Well, I still need to talk to him. Oh, by the way, a package came for Sentoki from Hidden Waterfall."

"Really? Did his family send him something?"

Tsunade nodded. "Apparently, after reading my report, Sentoki is being considered for promotion to jounin. Though they're probably still thinking it over, his family did send something to congratulate him."

With that Shizune walked in presented Hinata with a katana in its sheath. The hilt was practical and beautiful at the same time. At the end was the head of a dragon while the body wrapped around the handle, providing positions where the hand would fit perfectly. Even the hand-guard had been worked into the dragon design and the two sides acted as the dragon's claws. The sheath itself was plain but when she pulled the sword out Hinata gasped. The sword was obviously blue steel and shone beautifully in the light. Near the hand-guard a design of a lily was engraved on. The lily was slightly buffed on both sides and all in all the katana was a magnificent weapon.

"This is beautiful," Hinata muttered.

"That it is," Tsunade agreed. "If Sentoki knows how to use this sword, he'll be formidable indeed. Take good care of him, Hinata."

With a bow Hinata sheathed the katana once more. Out in the hallway Shizune immediately began questioning her mentor.

"Are you sure about not telling Hinata the rest of the message?"

"The part about he's being considered for jounin if he survives?" Tsunade asked. "Of course. You've seen how much Hinata cares for Sentoki. And from the looks of it, he will survive. So why worry her needlessly?"

"I guess you're right," said Shizune. "Still, it feels wrong concealing things from her when they're about her own fiancé."

"Hinata is stronger than she gives herself credit for. Just trust her. Besides, we still have a memorial to finish planning for."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

When Shin awakened the next time, Hinata showed him the sword with a smile. But that soon disappeared as a shocked expression overcame Shin's face.

"Shin-kun? Is something wrong?"

It looked as if Shin had seen a ghost, but he shook it off.

"Nothing. Sorry I worried you, Hinata-hime."

Hinata looked at the sword once more before handing it to Shin.

"It's just that, well, this is my sister's sword."

"Your sister?"

Shin nodded. "My oldest sister, Yuri. She was killed during the battle with the Akatsuki."

"Oh," Hinata muttered softly.

"It's okay. There's no way you could have known. I doubt my family would have mentioned in any message they sent."

"Oh! There was a message! They said that you're being considered for a jounin."

"Is that so," said Shin. "Well, that'll probably take another year before that comes to pass."

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Simple," said Shin. "I'm not qualified to be a jounin yet. They're only considering it. I'll have to prove myself again a few more times."

"You're not going to use that jutsu again, are you?" Hinata asked softly.

"No, nothing that dramatic," said Shin. "I doubt I'll be able to use that jutsu again for another year. If I tried, I'd probably kill myself."

Hinata let out a sigh before catching that last part. Her second sigh was one of sadness. But she vowed Shin wouldn't have to use that jutsu again for a long time. She wouldn't let him.

Stretching a bit, Shin threw aside the sheets and stood.

"Shin-kun! Are you sure you're strong enough?"

Shin nodded. "A few days worth of sleep does wonders for the body."

The moment those words came out of his mouth his stomach began growling.

"Though I could use some food," he said with a sheepish smile.

"If you feel strong enough, we can check out and go home," said Hinata. "I'm sure the cooks can make you something."

"That'd be nice."

A week had passed since Shin left the hospital. Every shinobi of Konoha stood assembled in the massive platform. The sun shone on an uncharacteristically good day, but no one really enjoyed it. Shin stood by Hinata's side, wearing the Hidden Waterfall's forehead protector. He had participated in the battle and would pay homage to those who didn't make it. But in reality, Shin was terrified of death. Being at a memorial to honor the dead made him uneasy. He clutched the handle of the katana and looked up at the pictures. A pity a certain someone wasn't also up there.

There were still tasks for him to perform. It would only be a matter of time now. Shin looked at the picture of the Copy Ninja. A great shinobi, he would certainly have been an obstacle. Shin's eyes turned black once more and he looked around. All the lines were clearly visible, but he concentrated on three that tied to one person. They burned with the chakra that surrounded them. It would be difficult, but the Shinigami would be enough. Now he only had to wait.

End of Chapter 6

Z98