NARUTO © Kishimoto Masashi • Shueisha • Studio Pierrot • TV Tokyo. All rights reserved. Non-profit fun ahead!
--------------------------------------------------------------
Against the Tide
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twelve
Everything was in a mess.
Decided Iruka, as he sat nervously in the police headquarters conference room, waiting for the council-appointed representative to arrive. The news of Sasuke's injury had travelled fast enough, such that the council saw fit to call an emergency meeting with the key people of the Taiyoubu.
The call for the meeting could not have happened at a worst time.
Kakashi was in the hospital - he had wanted to ask the doctors more about Sasuke's situation, as well as be there if he woke up to be able to ask him some questions. Therefore the only available members of the department were the ones that were not really from the department. Iruka sighed, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Anytime now, the representative would come walking in.
Although Naruto was with him, Iruka was not sure if the spaced out blond could be of any help. Naruto had not uttered a single word since he saw the injured Sasuke being carried off on a stretcher. Iruka was worried. He also was worried about what he would say to the representative, who was obviously not going to be here to praise their work. He hoped he had enough punch left in him to fight back whatever the council was going to throw at them.
No sooner than he had hoped that, did the door to the conference room fly open.
The representative, a prim-and-proper looking Ninja who looked vaguely important, stepped in. He slammed a thick file on the table, opened it, sat down and glared at Iruka. He did not even acknowledge Naruto. "Umino Iruka Chuunin," he began, emphasising Iruka's rank in a sickeningly sweet, polite voice, "why are you the one meeting me? Where is Hatake Kakashi Jounin?"
Iruka felt a blood vessel on his head throb. He smiled and replied just as politely, "He is at the hospital, sir, looking after his charge."
"How could anything be more important than this meeting with me?" The man snorted, and tossed his head angrily.
Iruka's smile became forced, and he had to repeat endlessly to himself inside that this meeting would not last any longer than 15 minutes. He endured.
"And since you have no power to bargain or decide," the haughty voice continued, "then I shall make this quick." He flipped through the file before him. "The council has officially decided, in lieu of the gross mis-management of important missions on the part of the Taikou Youma Butai, the Anti-Youma Brigade; as seen by the latest spat of unsolved attacks on young ladies and subsequently Uchiha Sasuke, that the Brigade be disbanded and its members be absorbed into the other departments of the police force, with immediate effect." Without waiting for a response, he closed the file and stood up. "That will be all."
Shocked at the suddenness, Iruka gaped for a second. By that time, the man had reached the doors and was about to push it open. "WAIT!" He quickly shouted, standing up and hastily making his way over. "You can't be serious! The Taiyoubu has not done anything to deserve such a fate!"
The man spun around sharply and glared at Iruka. "The Taiyoubu is a breeding ground for demons, Iruka-sensei. It is only because of the Brigade that we have not stopped receiving attacks from the Youma. Once the department is dissolved, there will be peace in the village again. And the next step," he sneered, "will be removing the trash you call Youma-Ningen."
There was no time to be astounded by the representative's strong use of words. Iruka immediately set his eyes with determination. "You will not speak of the department Kakashi-san and Sasuke has tried so hard to maintain with such contempt, sir. The department has served the village with great merit these past few years, perhaps more than you ever will be able to." There was a glint in his eye. "I will see Hokage-sama about this matter personally."
"Hokage-sama will not see you over such a trivial matter!" The man snarled back. But his voice was unsure. "If there is nothing else, I take my leave!"
Iruka did not react, except to take one step back and nod stiffly. He watched, eyes brimming with emotion, as the man exited the room in a huff and slammed the door shut with the loudest sound he could muster as a farewell warning.
As soon as Iruka was sure he could no longer feel the disgusting man within the immediate vicinity, he let out a loud sigh, slumping into the nearest available seat. The declaration about speaking with the Hokage was true for his part, but he did not know if Sandaime would be sympathetic to the cause. Being the leader of the village, he had to put the interests of the villagers in top priority, after all.
While he was yet revising his explanation to the Hokage, Naruto shuffled slightly in his seat. It was the first sign of life the boy had shown since entering the room, so Iruka immediately caught on to it. He turned around to look at Naruto in the eye, noticing with great relief that the spaced out, blank look in Naruto's eyes were no more - now replaced by his usual vibrant, blue orbs again.
"Iruka-sensei..." The blond was saying, with a frown. He swayed about slightly in his seat, "...I feel strange." He folded his hands across the table and let his head collapse unceremoniously into the crook between his elbows. "My head hurts."
Iruka felt a twinge of pity wash over him. Naruto had never lost anybody close to him before to realise what he was feeling. As his guardian, he had hoped to never let Naruto experience such feelings before. "It's all right, Naruto," he said as soothingly as he could, "don't be sad. Sasuke's strong, and he won't let this little hiccup come in between him and his mission."
Naruto turned his head so that it now laid rested on one side and that he was facing Iruka. "I'm not sad." He declared monotonously, the glazed, dead look slowly overtaking his features again. "I feel strange, sensei," he repeated.
Not knowing how else to comfort the boy, Iruka stood. He gestured at Naruto with a warm smile. "Tell you what. Why don't we go to the hospital and see what's going on there? I'm sure the doctors will have good news for us!"
Naruto stayed in his position, unmoving. He looked like he was asleep - only with eyes opened. As Iruka moved to approach him, he suddenly sat up straight. "Okay," he deadpanned, standing up robotically and striding over to where Iruka was. "Hospital would be good. Sasuke is there," he further compounded.
And not once all this while did he look at Iruka in the eye.
Iruka said nothing, but smiled sadly. He stepped out of the room, followed closely by Naruto.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Kakashi-san," Iruka greeted the man seated on a row of seats along the corridors of the hospital observation wing. The Jounin looked up from his bright, orange book.
"Ah, Iruka-sensei," the single visible eye of Kakashi became an upturned U. He closed the book and stood up, stretching. "How nice it is to see another human being walk by me for once."
"Huh?" Was Iruka's intelligent response. He glanced slightly around, then continued, "But there are so many nurses and doctors walking about here..."
Kakashi frowned at the surroundings. "Exactly," he said in a low mumble.
Iruka stared questioningly at him.
"They almost refused to treat Sasuke," Kakashi explained, a slight anger hiding behind his otherwise dull sounding tone. "Said he'd bring all the people in the hospital down to death with him if they did."
Upon hearing that, Iruka thought his jaw would drop to the floor. "WHAT?!" He shrieked, not caring that a few nurses around paused to glare at him dangerously. He glared back, then returned his attention to Kakashi. "What the hell are these people on? Who do they think they are?! Where's Sasuke now?" The last question was ask with much more desperation than fury.
Kakashi jerked a thumb in the direction of the door behind them. "Inside," he replied simply. "They treated him." He almost snickered at Iruka's aghast reaction. "Don't worry. I made doubly sure they did nothing to harm him more than he already should. I was there throughout the whole operation, and I've been standing guard here for a while now."
Iruka relaxed slightly. His eyebrows quirked. "Is /that/ why you insisted on following them?"
"Mainly, yes," Kakashi answered immediately, scratching his head. "Of course I also assumed Sasuke would have woken up by now so I can ask him a few questions, but it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon."
"Why?" Iruka was instantly concerned.
Kakashi shrugged, placing his hand on the doorknob of the room door. "I'll tell you more when we get inside."
Gulping, Iruka nodded. Kakashi slowly pushed the door open, the slightly worn-out hinge creaking as he did. The trio filled into the room quietly, and Kakashi then closed the door for them. Iruka felt his breath hitch, when he saw the lifeless figure of Sasuke sprawled across the plain, white sheets; an unacceptable amount of tubes and bandages covering almost every part of his visible skin. The shock dissolved into unbridled sadness. This was not how he had envisioned the promising boy would come to an end to his career.
"There was a strange wound near his heart," Kakashi began, slinking down onto the sofa in the room, "that caused most of the bleeding. Other than that, there wasn't any outward injury. His left knee is broken, and he swallowed too much water." Kakashi frowned. "The doctors cannot tell if it's from the rain, the river, or any other source. And they were unwilling to divulge anything else about his condition. My Sharingan was only able to tell that there is a massive amount of abnormal Chakra concentrated around Sasuke's head. I can read nothing else from the signature..."
The Jounin paused slightly, as he observed Naruto finally moving from where he had been standing rooted on the spot all this while. The blond gravitated slowly and calmly towards the bed where Sasuke was lying on, very much unlike his usually rowdy self. Kakashi brushed by Iruka to stand behind the boy. Naruto stared, still with a glazed look in his eye, at the unconscious figure of Sasuke.
Kakashi was concerned, because he had not felt Naruto at all, and was only vaguely aware that he was there because of his bright, blond hair. There was something strange about the boy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet.
As if on cue, Naruto stretched out a hand towards Sasuke's face. It moved at a crawling speed, like this was something Naruto wanted, yet did not want to do. Kakashi frowned, having felt a flare of unusual Chakra when Naruto moved. He did not know if Naruto was going to help or harm his protege, but he was not going to let either happen. "Naruto," he said sternly. "What's that piece of paper in your hand?"
Naruto jumped visibly when his name was called. His hand stopped immediately, and he glanced downwards to look at the piece of paper in the hand that was by his side. From where he stood, Iruka saw colour returning to Naruto's eyes again. He frowned slightly. The only other times he had seen a dull glow in his eyes was when Naruto was heavily sedated and completely out of himself. He wondered briefly what to make of it, but stopped thinking, when Naruto spoke.
"I... ugh..." the blond blinked in slight surprise. "Oh!" He turned around to smile sheepishly at Kakashi. "It's some paper that slipped out from Sasuke when those men were carrying him away..."
There was a sudden outpouring of Naruto's usual aura when he said that, so Kakashi felt the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. "Let me see," Kakashi commanded. Naruto's lip turned downwards slightly and he moved a step back. "What's wrong?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Is there something inside you don't want me to know about? Is that his love letter for you, hm?"
Immediately, Naruto's eyes widened. "Eww no!!" The usual brashness was back, making both Iruka and Kakashi sigh inwardly with relief. A quiet Naruto was never a good sign after all. Naruto simmered down, however, when he stared at the piece of paper again. His eyes flickered almost visibly between dull and bright blue. "It's a strange note..." he whispered. "... very very strange note..."
Kakashi grabbed the paper away from Naruto's loosening hands. "Let's see just how strange it is, then," he turned away from the frozen Naruto and walked towards Iruka. He did not complete the whole distance, however, stopping abruptly after three steps. His eye showed stark surprise, having finished reading the note. "That..." he breathed, "...idiot!"
"Kakashi-san?" Iruka was slightly confused. Kakashi afforded him an evidently unhappy glance. Wordlessly, he walked towards the Chuunin, and passed him the note. Iruka took but a second to process the words on the note, and his eyes widened with horror.
Kakashi had not staye to see Iruka's reaction. He returned to Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke with eyes flickering between dull and bright blue again, and asked, "Naruto. You said the paper dropped from Sasuke, is that correct?"
Naruto did not turn his head, although he nodded.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Kakashi pressed on, knowing he should be paying at least some attention to the fact that Naruto was so totally out of it for the whole day, but too flustered over Sasuke's current condition to bother for now.
Naruto blinked, and when his eyes reopened they were the normal blue again. He turned to face Kakashi. "I don't know, Kakashi-sensei. It was so dark and confusing. I think I'm quite sure it dropped from Sasuke, though."
"Hmm..." The Jounin let his eye drift. He had yet to come up with another question when Iruka stepped forward and coughed for attention.
"Excuse me, Kakashi-san," the Chuunin put on a slightly irritated face. "I have to tell you something first. The council has sent a representative to the Taiyoubu just now with some very negative news."
"Ho-hum," Kakashi shrugged. "Are they trying to shut the Taiyoubu down again? I'm not surprised," he sighed. "They've been issuing warnings for the past three years, but they've not succeeded before." He tapped his fingers on his hip, in deep thought. "But..."
"But this time, the threat is real," Iruka finished for him. "Once Sasuke is out of commission, the official headcount in the department is down to one. There's no reason why the council, or the Hokage would allow a department to operate with just one member. And the missions the Taiyoubu receives are usually ranked B and above. You recognise that the threat is real this time too, don't you, Kakashi-san?"
The silver-haired Jounin looked at Iruka thoughtfully for a couple of seconds. He sighed. "I understand, Iruka-sensei. And just as you've mentioned, the Brigade is in shambles at the moment. This is something no amount of denying will help. If they want to close the department down, now is the best time for them to. There's very little we can do about it."
Iruka's eyes flashed angrily. "The department has always been the pride of the Uchiha," he almost snarled, "and you're going to let it be given away now when their last living descendent is unable to defend it?"
There was literal tension in the room, that even drew Naruto's attention to the two adults. Kakashi eyed Iruka carefully. "Iruka," he said, making his tone blank but serious, "I said there is 'very little' we can do about it. I did not say there is nothing."
Caught by surprise at his misinterpretation of Kakashi's words, Iruka flushed red with embarrassment from ear to ear and quickly bowed in apology. "I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions-"
"Your emotional side will be your downfall as Shinobi, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi waved the apology aside as if he didn't particularly need one. "But well," he strode over to Sasuke's bedside, ghosting a hand over the boy's forehead in a rare display of tenderness, "I guess that's what makes you, you."
Unsure of how to respond, Iruka kept his peace.
"I'm going to go see Hokage-sama," Kakashi whirled around and stared at Iruka seriously. Iruka was surprised at the sudden decision, but nodded sternly. "I'll have a talk with him as the head of the department. I should be able to delay for some time. I'm rather sure that Sasuke will wake up by today, so if we can buy some time, he can tell us what exactly happened. There's hope for the department yet." He slowly sautered towards the door, walking by Iruka as he did.
"Make sure Naruto doesn't try anything funny," Kakashi whispered almost inaudibly to the caretaker, who was taken aback. Iruka felt a tug at his hand, before realising that Kakashi had removed the piece of paper he had been reading. "I'll take that," Kakashi muttered. He then slipped out of the room as quietly as a whisper of wind.
The room was now filled with a disturbing silence.
"Naruto," Iruka blurted, voice sounding raspier than he wanted it to be, "you're not going to be of any help standing there and staring."
Nodding, Naruto cast one last glance at the bed and trotted to where Iruka was. Iruka found a stool and sat on it, while Naruto descended heavily onto the sofa. The soft lighting in the room, coupled with the depressing silence that was only breached when the heart monitor made a tick, soon got on Iruka's nerves. The fact that Naruto was sombre and not asking frantic questions every two minutes also made Iruka edgy. There was also Kakashi's very cryptic warning Finally, he stood, unable to bear the silence any longer. He stalked over to Naruto, put his hands on his hips, and shot, "Naruto. What's wrong with you?"
The blond looked up with wide, surprised eyes. "Nothing's wrong, sensei."
"Nothing's wrong, my foot!" Iruka bent over in an intimidating pose. "I know you, Naruto. There's something on your mind. If you don't say it out now, I won't be able to help you, boy," he sternly warned, and Naruto cringed into himself.
"I just feel strange," the blond muttered. "It's nothing to be worried about."
Iruka's expressions softened. "What do you mean?" He asked mildly.
"Just strange," Naruto shrugged. "Here, here, here, there... everywhere!" He pat the area of his chest, stomach, head, then flailed his arms about. "I shouldn't have looked at that piece of paper," he sighed noisily. "It made me feel strange."
A hand came down on his head and ruffled his hair slightly. Naruto glanced up to see the grinning face of Iruka. "Don't worry about it, Naruto," his caretaker almost chirped. "Sasuke's a strong kid. He won't lose to something as trivial as this!"
Naruto's eyes were innocent. "I know that."
Iruka felt an eyebrow twitch.
"It's not about Sasuke," Naruto turned away, his eyes inadvertably finding the figure on the bed again. "But it's a little bit about him... not about him, but still about him..." He ended the sentence with a loud sneeze and several wracking coughs. Iruka stared worriedly at him.
"I'll go get us both some hot drinks," the caretaker informed, heading towards the door. "Don't think too much about it, Naruto. Because no matter what you feel about this," Iruka paused just prior to closing the door completely, "it's not your fault, boy."
Naruto flinched. "It's not my fault..." He repeated softly.
The door closed quietly.
Naruto slumped, his face falling into his cupped hands.
He did not know how long he stayed in that position for, but he knew it had not been too long. The door suddenly creaked open again, attracting his attention. He lifted his head to glance at whoever was coming in, slightly surprised to see a couple of familiar faces. "Sakura-chan... Hinata!"
"So...sorry to be disturbing you..." Hinata stuttered, but opened the door wider so Sakura and herself could pass through it. The two girls scooted in quickly and shut the door equally quickly. "How... How is Sasuke-kun doing?" The nurse continued, standing beside the sofa and looking at Naruto with slightly frightened eyes.
Sakura had been braver. Despite the IV drip she was dragging around, she stepped right towards the bed and sat down on the stool beside it. Her gaze at Sasuke was worried and pained.
"I..." Naruto began, but then realised he knew next to nothing about Sasuke's condition. "I don't know... Sorry, I wasn't paying attention when Kakashi-sensei was talking about it," he smiled sheepishly.
Hinata jumped slightly, then averted her eyes. "It... It's all right, Na... Naruto-kun... I... I can find out for you by... by asking..."
"No! No!" Naruto quickly stood and held both hands out, frightening Hinata into taking a step back. "I mean, no! Really, it's all right." He quickly amended himself, stating in a softer tone. "You don't have to go through so much trouble for that jerk."
"I... I see..." The girl gulped and nodded. "Well... Sa... Sasuke-kun is not in... the Intensive Care U... Unit so I think... I think he should be all right..."
Naruto stopped looking dazed for a moment to grin happily at Hinata. "Thanks, Hinata."
"Naruto..." Sakura's rather anxious voice attracted both Naruto and Hinata's attentions. "... what exactly happened to Sasuke-kun?"
The smile was wiped off Naruto's face immediately. "Hah," he said in a low grumble, "bastard was stupid enough to go fight an S-rank demon on his own, that's what happened to him."
The information took a while to sink in, after which Sakura's eyes flashed. "Don't say that about him," she scolded softly, "I'm sure he must have had a reason for doing whatever he did."
"Well he sure did!" Naruto blurted loudly, sending Hinata into a fluster. "The bastard thought he was trying to protect me from being killed, that's why! Hah! As if I needed his help! Nobody kills Uzumaki Naruto that easily!" He tossed a fist in the air, oblivious to Hinata's frantic pleas for him to keep his volume down.
Sakura blinked at him at first, then melted into an all-knowing smile. "I see..." she sighed, touching Sasuke's hand gently. "Sasuke-kun... does have a soft side to him after all, doesn't he?"
"Like hell!" Naruto quickly interrupted. "His heart's harder than ice!"
"You /just/ said he got injured trying to protect you," Sakura frowned at him.
"I never asked for his help!" Naruto growled back. "And now he's all knocked out, bandaged like a mummy, hooked onto all these weird liquids and this stupid machine that beats every seconds - because of me!" He stomped a foot. "All because he thought he was trying to protect me!" Naruto's eyes began to waver with frustration. "I don't need his protection! I don't need him to do anything for me! Least of all, I don't need him to DIE for me!"
The girls were stunned silent at the emotional outburst.
And Naruto did not merely stop there. He strode purposefully over to the bed and frowned hard at his now unconscious partner. From unabiding anger, his expression slowly became unhappy pity, then finally, grudging acceptance. "Bastard!" He said the word softly, his eyes a conflicting display of emotions. "Always scolding me! Always complaining and whining I don't understand!" A strange darkness began to probe into Naruto's mind again, now that he was at a mental low, but he ignored it. "Well you know what? When you wake up I'm gonna throw those words right back in your face!" He sniffled slightly. "'Those who live suffer more than those who die', hahah!..." The bitter laughter trailed, and Naruto blinked sadly. "...you don't have to die to prove it to me... okay? I already know what you mean... know how it feels..."
The darkness in his mind began to take shape and make sounds. Naruto's eyes widened, his breath hitching. He put both hands to his head and slowly curled up, shaking his head from side to side. A strange aura suddenly rippled outwards from where he was. Sakura stood quickly and backed slightly away, eyes reflecting sudden terror.
And very well so, for she knew this was the same flash of aura she had felt during that same night.
That same night she was attacked.
A short while later, Naruto slowly straightened, a wry grin on his face. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer their usual colour. Instead, a dull, pulsating dark blue had taken over. There was no longer any life in those orbs.
"Naruto, I hope you don't mind coffee--" Iruka opened the door of the room. He had fully intended to saunter casually in when the malicious aura almost bowled him over. He gasped and dropped all the cans of drinks he had bought. "Naruto!" He could hardly hear himself in the resulting whisper of disbelief.
The blond boy turned around and grinned slyly at his caretaker. "Sensei," he stated, in a rumbling voice that was not his, "I feel /really/ strange now, hahah!" After that bitter laugh, he leapt over the bed and onto the opened windows, bounding outside, vanishing from sight faster than anybody in the room could notice.
"Shit!" Iruka cursed and ran over to the window. He leant out, noticed he could not see Naruto any longer, and cursed again. With one foot on the window sill, he looked back and commanded, "Hinata! Go get Kakashi-sensei! Tell him it's an emergency! And Sakura! Stay with Sasuke! Once he shows signs of waking up, force him to wake up! Then tell him to go find Kakashi! Now! Do it now!" He glared so hard, his eyeballs looked like they were about to fall out.
Hinata nodded mutely and scrambled away from the room, the same time Iruka vanished in a blur from the window. Sakura gaped, looking from the door to the window, realising suddenly that she was all alone in the room with Sasuke now. Although in normal circumstnces, she would have thought this to be romantic, currently the circumstances were anything but normal. She slumped back onto the stool, pensive and thoughtful.
So absorbed she was, that she did not notice Sasuke's fingers twitching, barely a few minutes later.
--------------------------------------------------------------
8/10/2004
Part 13 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net
--------------------------------------------------------------
Against the Tide
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Twelve
Everything was in a mess.
Decided Iruka, as he sat nervously in the police headquarters conference room, waiting for the council-appointed representative to arrive. The news of Sasuke's injury had travelled fast enough, such that the council saw fit to call an emergency meeting with the key people of the Taiyoubu.
The call for the meeting could not have happened at a worst time.
Kakashi was in the hospital - he had wanted to ask the doctors more about Sasuke's situation, as well as be there if he woke up to be able to ask him some questions. Therefore the only available members of the department were the ones that were not really from the department. Iruka sighed, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Anytime now, the representative would come walking in.
Although Naruto was with him, Iruka was not sure if the spaced out blond could be of any help. Naruto had not uttered a single word since he saw the injured Sasuke being carried off on a stretcher. Iruka was worried. He also was worried about what he would say to the representative, who was obviously not going to be here to praise their work. He hoped he had enough punch left in him to fight back whatever the council was going to throw at them.
No sooner than he had hoped that, did the door to the conference room fly open.
The representative, a prim-and-proper looking Ninja who looked vaguely important, stepped in. He slammed a thick file on the table, opened it, sat down and glared at Iruka. He did not even acknowledge Naruto. "Umino Iruka Chuunin," he began, emphasising Iruka's rank in a sickeningly sweet, polite voice, "why are you the one meeting me? Where is Hatake Kakashi Jounin?"
Iruka felt a blood vessel on his head throb. He smiled and replied just as politely, "He is at the hospital, sir, looking after his charge."
"How could anything be more important than this meeting with me?" The man snorted, and tossed his head angrily.
Iruka's smile became forced, and he had to repeat endlessly to himself inside that this meeting would not last any longer than 15 minutes. He endured.
"And since you have no power to bargain or decide," the haughty voice continued, "then I shall make this quick." He flipped through the file before him. "The council has officially decided, in lieu of the gross mis-management of important missions on the part of the Taikou Youma Butai, the Anti-Youma Brigade; as seen by the latest spat of unsolved attacks on young ladies and subsequently Uchiha Sasuke, that the Brigade be disbanded and its members be absorbed into the other departments of the police force, with immediate effect." Without waiting for a response, he closed the file and stood up. "That will be all."
Shocked at the suddenness, Iruka gaped for a second. By that time, the man had reached the doors and was about to push it open. "WAIT!" He quickly shouted, standing up and hastily making his way over. "You can't be serious! The Taiyoubu has not done anything to deserve such a fate!"
The man spun around sharply and glared at Iruka. "The Taiyoubu is a breeding ground for demons, Iruka-sensei. It is only because of the Brigade that we have not stopped receiving attacks from the Youma. Once the department is dissolved, there will be peace in the village again. And the next step," he sneered, "will be removing the trash you call Youma-Ningen."
There was no time to be astounded by the representative's strong use of words. Iruka immediately set his eyes with determination. "You will not speak of the department Kakashi-san and Sasuke has tried so hard to maintain with such contempt, sir. The department has served the village with great merit these past few years, perhaps more than you ever will be able to." There was a glint in his eye. "I will see Hokage-sama about this matter personally."
"Hokage-sama will not see you over such a trivial matter!" The man snarled back. But his voice was unsure. "If there is nothing else, I take my leave!"
Iruka did not react, except to take one step back and nod stiffly. He watched, eyes brimming with emotion, as the man exited the room in a huff and slammed the door shut with the loudest sound he could muster as a farewell warning.
As soon as Iruka was sure he could no longer feel the disgusting man within the immediate vicinity, he let out a loud sigh, slumping into the nearest available seat. The declaration about speaking with the Hokage was true for his part, but he did not know if Sandaime would be sympathetic to the cause. Being the leader of the village, he had to put the interests of the villagers in top priority, after all.
While he was yet revising his explanation to the Hokage, Naruto shuffled slightly in his seat. It was the first sign of life the boy had shown since entering the room, so Iruka immediately caught on to it. He turned around to look at Naruto in the eye, noticing with great relief that the spaced out, blank look in Naruto's eyes were no more - now replaced by his usual vibrant, blue orbs again.
"Iruka-sensei..." The blond was saying, with a frown. He swayed about slightly in his seat, "...I feel strange." He folded his hands across the table and let his head collapse unceremoniously into the crook between his elbows. "My head hurts."
Iruka felt a twinge of pity wash over him. Naruto had never lost anybody close to him before to realise what he was feeling. As his guardian, he had hoped to never let Naruto experience such feelings before. "It's all right, Naruto," he said as soothingly as he could, "don't be sad. Sasuke's strong, and he won't let this little hiccup come in between him and his mission."
Naruto turned his head so that it now laid rested on one side and that he was facing Iruka. "I'm not sad." He declared monotonously, the glazed, dead look slowly overtaking his features again. "I feel strange, sensei," he repeated.
Not knowing how else to comfort the boy, Iruka stood. He gestured at Naruto with a warm smile. "Tell you what. Why don't we go to the hospital and see what's going on there? I'm sure the doctors will have good news for us!"
Naruto stayed in his position, unmoving. He looked like he was asleep - only with eyes opened. As Iruka moved to approach him, he suddenly sat up straight. "Okay," he deadpanned, standing up robotically and striding over to where Iruka was. "Hospital would be good. Sasuke is there," he further compounded.
And not once all this while did he look at Iruka in the eye.
Iruka said nothing, but smiled sadly. He stepped out of the room, followed closely by Naruto.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Kakashi-san," Iruka greeted the man seated on a row of seats along the corridors of the hospital observation wing. The Jounin looked up from his bright, orange book.
"Ah, Iruka-sensei," the single visible eye of Kakashi became an upturned U. He closed the book and stood up, stretching. "How nice it is to see another human being walk by me for once."
"Huh?" Was Iruka's intelligent response. He glanced slightly around, then continued, "But there are so many nurses and doctors walking about here..."
Kakashi frowned at the surroundings. "Exactly," he said in a low mumble.
Iruka stared questioningly at him.
"They almost refused to treat Sasuke," Kakashi explained, a slight anger hiding behind his otherwise dull sounding tone. "Said he'd bring all the people in the hospital down to death with him if they did."
Upon hearing that, Iruka thought his jaw would drop to the floor. "WHAT?!" He shrieked, not caring that a few nurses around paused to glare at him dangerously. He glared back, then returned his attention to Kakashi. "What the hell are these people on? Who do they think they are?! Where's Sasuke now?" The last question was ask with much more desperation than fury.
Kakashi jerked a thumb in the direction of the door behind them. "Inside," he replied simply. "They treated him." He almost snickered at Iruka's aghast reaction. "Don't worry. I made doubly sure they did nothing to harm him more than he already should. I was there throughout the whole operation, and I've been standing guard here for a while now."
Iruka relaxed slightly. His eyebrows quirked. "Is /that/ why you insisted on following them?"
"Mainly, yes," Kakashi answered immediately, scratching his head. "Of course I also assumed Sasuke would have woken up by now so I can ask him a few questions, but it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon."
"Why?" Iruka was instantly concerned.
Kakashi shrugged, placing his hand on the doorknob of the room door. "I'll tell you more when we get inside."
Gulping, Iruka nodded. Kakashi slowly pushed the door open, the slightly worn-out hinge creaking as he did. The trio filled into the room quietly, and Kakashi then closed the door for them. Iruka felt his breath hitch, when he saw the lifeless figure of Sasuke sprawled across the plain, white sheets; an unacceptable amount of tubes and bandages covering almost every part of his visible skin. The shock dissolved into unbridled sadness. This was not how he had envisioned the promising boy would come to an end to his career.
"There was a strange wound near his heart," Kakashi began, slinking down onto the sofa in the room, "that caused most of the bleeding. Other than that, there wasn't any outward injury. His left knee is broken, and he swallowed too much water." Kakashi frowned. "The doctors cannot tell if it's from the rain, the river, or any other source. And they were unwilling to divulge anything else about his condition. My Sharingan was only able to tell that there is a massive amount of abnormal Chakra concentrated around Sasuke's head. I can read nothing else from the signature..."
The Jounin paused slightly, as he observed Naruto finally moving from where he had been standing rooted on the spot all this while. The blond gravitated slowly and calmly towards the bed where Sasuke was lying on, very much unlike his usually rowdy self. Kakashi brushed by Iruka to stand behind the boy. Naruto stared, still with a glazed look in his eye, at the unconscious figure of Sasuke.
Kakashi was concerned, because he had not felt Naruto at all, and was only vaguely aware that he was there because of his bright, blond hair. There was something strange about the boy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet.
As if on cue, Naruto stretched out a hand towards Sasuke's face. It moved at a crawling speed, like this was something Naruto wanted, yet did not want to do. Kakashi frowned, having felt a flare of unusual Chakra when Naruto moved. He did not know if Naruto was going to help or harm his protege, but he was not going to let either happen. "Naruto," he said sternly. "What's that piece of paper in your hand?"
Naruto jumped visibly when his name was called. His hand stopped immediately, and he glanced downwards to look at the piece of paper in the hand that was by his side. From where he stood, Iruka saw colour returning to Naruto's eyes again. He frowned slightly. The only other times he had seen a dull glow in his eyes was when Naruto was heavily sedated and completely out of himself. He wondered briefly what to make of it, but stopped thinking, when Naruto spoke.
"I... ugh..." the blond blinked in slight surprise. "Oh!" He turned around to smile sheepishly at Kakashi. "It's some paper that slipped out from Sasuke when those men were carrying him away..."
There was a sudden outpouring of Naruto's usual aura when he said that, so Kakashi felt the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. "Let me see," Kakashi commanded. Naruto's lip turned downwards slightly and he moved a step back. "What's wrong?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Is there something inside you don't want me to know about? Is that his love letter for you, hm?"
Immediately, Naruto's eyes widened. "Eww no!!" The usual brashness was back, making both Iruka and Kakashi sigh inwardly with relief. A quiet Naruto was never a good sign after all. Naruto simmered down, however, when he stared at the piece of paper again. His eyes flickered almost visibly between dull and bright blue. "It's a strange note..." he whispered. "... very very strange note..."
Kakashi grabbed the paper away from Naruto's loosening hands. "Let's see just how strange it is, then," he turned away from the frozen Naruto and walked towards Iruka. He did not complete the whole distance, however, stopping abruptly after three steps. His eye showed stark surprise, having finished reading the note. "That..." he breathed, "...idiot!"
"Kakashi-san?" Iruka was slightly confused. Kakashi afforded him an evidently unhappy glance. Wordlessly, he walked towards the Chuunin, and passed him the note. Iruka took but a second to process the words on the note, and his eyes widened with horror.
Kakashi had not staye to see Iruka's reaction. He returned to Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke with eyes flickering between dull and bright blue again, and asked, "Naruto. You said the paper dropped from Sasuke, is that correct?"
Naruto did not turn his head, although he nodded.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Kakashi pressed on, knowing he should be paying at least some attention to the fact that Naruto was so totally out of it for the whole day, but too flustered over Sasuke's current condition to bother for now.
Naruto blinked, and when his eyes reopened they were the normal blue again. He turned to face Kakashi. "I don't know, Kakashi-sensei. It was so dark and confusing. I think I'm quite sure it dropped from Sasuke, though."
"Hmm..." The Jounin let his eye drift. He had yet to come up with another question when Iruka stepped forward and coughed for attention.
"Excuse me, Kakashi-san," the Chuunin put on a slightly irritated face. "I have to tell you something first. The council has sent a representative to the Taiyoubu just now with some very negative news."
"Ho-hum," Kakashi shrugged. "Are they trying to shut the Taiyoubu down again? I'm not surprised," he sighed. "They've been issuing warnings for the past three years, but they've not succeeded before." He tapped his fingers on his hip, in deep thought. "But..."
"But this time, the threat is real," Iruka finished for him. "Once Sasuke is out of commission, the official headcount in the department is down to one. There's no reason why the council, or the Hokage would allow a department to operate with just one member. And the missions the Taiyoubu receives are usually ranked B and above. You recognise that the threat is real this time too, don't you, Kakashi-san?"
The silver-haired Jounin looked at Iruka thoughtfully for a couple of seconds. He sighed. "I understand, Iruka-sensei. And just as you've mentioned, the Brigade is in shambles at the moment. This is something no amount of denying will help. If they want to close the department down, now is the best time for them to. There's very little we can do about it."
Iruka's eyes flashed angrily. "The department has always been the pride of the Uchiha," he almost snarled, "and you're going to let it be given away now when their last living descendent is unable to defend it?"
There was literal tension in the room, that even drew Naruto's attention to the two adults. Kakashi eyed Iruka carefully. "Iruka," he said, making his tone blank but serious, "I said there is 'very little' we can do about it. I did not say there is nothing."
Caught by surprise at his misinterpretation of Kakashi's words, Iruka flushed red with embarrassment from ear to ear and quickly bowed in apology. "I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions-"
"Your emotional side will be your downfall as Shinobi, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi waved the apology aside as if he didn't particularly need one. "But well," he strode over to Sasuke's bedside, ghosting a hand over the boy's forehead in a rare display of tenderness, "I guess that's what makes you, you."
Unsure of how to respond, Iruka kept his peace.
"I'm going to go see Hokage-sama," Kakashi whirled around and stared at Iruka seriously. Iruka was surprised at the sudden decision, but nodded sternly. "I'll have a talk with him as the head of the department. I should be able to delay for some time. I'm rather sure that Sasuke will wake up by today, so if we can buy some time, he can tell us what exactly happened. There's hope for the department yet." He slowly sautered towards the door, walking by Iruka as he did.
"Make sure Naruto doesn't try anything funny," Kakashi whispered almost inaudibly to the caretaker, who was taken aback. Iruka felt a tug at his hand, before realising that Kakashi had removed the piece of paper he had been reading. "I'll take that," Kakashi muttered. He then slipped out of the room as quietly as a whisper of wind.
The room was now filled with a disturbing silence.
"Naruto," Iruka blurted, voice sounding raspier than he wanted it to be, "you're not going to be of any help standing there and staring."
Nodding, Naruto cast one last glance at the bed and trotted to where Iruka was. Iruka found a stool and sat on it, while Naruto descended heavily onto the sofa. The soft lighting in the room, coupled with the depressing silence that was only breached when the heart monitor made a tick, soon got on Iruka's nerves. The fact that Naruto was sombre and not asking frantic questions every two minutes also made Iruka edgy. There was also Kakashi's very cryptic warning Finally, he stood, unable to bear the silence any longer. He stalked over to Naruto, put his hands on his hips, and shot, "Naruto. What's wrong with you?"
The blond looked up with wide, surprised eyes. "Nothing's wrong, sensei."
"Nothing's wrong, my foot!" Iruka bent over in an intimidating pose. "I know you, Naruto. There's something on your mind. If you don't say it out now, I won't be able to help you, boy," he sternly warned, and Naruto cringed into himself.
"I just feel strange," the blond muttered. "It's nothing to be worried about."
Iruka's expressions softened. "What do you mean?" He asked mildly.
"Just strange," Naruto shrugged. "Here, here, here, there... everywhere!" He pat the area of his chest, stomach, head, then flailed his arms about. "I shouldn't have looked at that piece of paper," he sighed noisily. "It made me feel strange."
A hand came down on his head and ruffled his hair slightly. Naruto glanced up to see the grinning face of Iruka. "Don't worry about it, Naruto," his caretaker almost chirped. "Sasuke's a strong kid. He won't lose to something as trivial as this!"
Naruto's eyes were innocent. "I know that."
Iruka felt an eyebrow twitch.
"It's not about Sasuke," Naruto turned away, his eyes inadvertably finding the figure on the bed again. "But it's a little bit about him... not about him, but still about him..." He ended the sentence with a loud sneeze and several wracking coughs. Iruka stared worriedly at him.
"I'll go get us both some hot drinks," the caretaker informed, heading towards the door. "Don't think too much about it, Naruto. Because no matter what you feel about this," Iruka paused just prior to closing the door completely, "it's not your fault, boy."
Naruto flinched. "It's not my fault..." He repeated softly.
The door closed quietly.
Naruto slumped, his face falling into his cupped hands.
He did not know how long he stayed in that position for, but he knew it had not been too long. The door suddenly creaked open again, attracting his attention. He lifted his head to glance at whoever was coming in, slightly surprised to see a couple of familiar faces. "Sakura-chan... Hinata!"
"So...sorry to be disturbing you..." Hinata stuttered, but opened the door wider so Sakura and herself could pass through it. The two girls scooted in quickly and shut the door equally quickly. "How... How is Sasuke-kun doing?" The nurse continued, standing beside the sofa and looking at Naruto with slightly frightened eyes.
Sakura had been braver. Despite the IV drip she was dragging around, she stepped right towards the bed and sat down on the stool beside it. Her gaze at Sasuke was worried and pained.
"I..." Naruto began, but then realised he knew next to nothing about Sasuke's condition. "I don't know... Sorry, I wasn't paying attention when Kakashi-sensei was talking about it," he smiled sheepishly.
Hinata jumped slightly, then averted her eyes. "It... It's all right, Na... Naruto-kun... I... I can find out for you by... by asking..."
"No! No!" Naruto quickly stood and held both hands out, frightening Hinata into taking a step back. "I mean, no! Really, it's all right." He quickly amended himself, stating in a softer tone. "You don't have to go through so much trouble for that jerk."
"I... I see..." The girl gulped and nodded. "Well... Sa... Sasuke-kun is not in... the Intensive Care U... Unit so I think... I think he should be all right..."
Naruto stopped looking dazed for a moment to grin happily at Hinata. "Thanks, Hinata."
"Naruto..." Sakura's rather anxious voice attracted both Naruto and Hinata's attentions. "... what exactly happened to Sasuke-kun?"
The smile was wiped off Naruto's face immediately. "Hah," he said in a low grumble, "bastard was stupid enough to go fight an S-rank demon on his own, that's what happened to him."
The information took a while to sink in, after which Sakura's eyes flashed. "Don't say that about him," she scolded softly, "I'm sure he must have had a reason for doing whatever he did."
"Well he sure did!" Naruto blurted loudly, sending Hinata into a fluster. "The bastard thought he was trying to protect me from being killed, that's why! Hah! As if I needed his help! Nobody kills Uzumaki Naruto that easily!" He tossed a fist in the air, oblivious to Hinata's frantic pleas for him to keep his volume down.
Sakura blinked at him at first, then melted into an all-knowing smile. "I see..." she sighed, touching Sasuke's hand gently. "Sasuke-kun... does have a soft side to him after all, doesn't he?"
"Like hell!" Naruto quickly interrupted. "His heart's harder than ice!"
"You /just/ said he got injured trying to protect you," Sakura frowned at him.
"I never asked for his help!" Naruto growled back. "And now he's all knocked out, bandaged like a mummy, hooked onto all these weird liquids and this stupid machine that beats every seconds - because of me!" He stomped a foot. "All because he thought he was trying to protect me!" Naruto's eyes began to waver with frustration. "I don't need his protection! I don't need him to do anything for me! Least of all, I don't need him to DIE for me!"
The girls were stunned silent at the emotional outburst.
And Naruto did not merely stop there. He strode purposefully over to the bed and frowned hard at his now unconscious partner. From unabiding anger, his expression slowly became unhappy pity, then finally, grudging acceptance. "Bastard!" He said the word softly, his eyes a conflicting display of emotions. "Always scolding me! Always complaining and whining I don't understand!" A strange darkness began to probe into Naruto's mind again, now that he was at a mental low, but he ignored it. "Well you know what? When you wake up I'm gonna throw those words right back in your face!" He sniffled slightly. "'Those who live suffer more than those who die', hahah!..." The bitter laughter trailed, and Naruto blinked sadly. "...you don't have to die to prove it to me... okay? I already know what you mean... know how it feels..."
The darkness in his mind began to take shape and make sounds. Naruto's eyes widened, his breath hitching. He put both hands to his head and slowly curled up, shaking his head from side to side. A strange aura suddenly rippled outwards from where he was. Sakura stood quickly and backed slightly away, eyes reflecting sudden terror.
And very well so, for she knew this was the same flash of aura she had felt during that same night.
That same night she was attacked.
A short while later, Naruto slowly straightened, a wry grin on his face. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer their usual colour. Instead, a dull, pulsating dark blue had taken over. There was no longer any life in those orbs.
"Naruto, I hope you don't mind coffee--" Iruka opened the door of the room. He had fully intended to saunter casually in when the malicious aura almost bowled him over. He gasped and dropped all the cans of drinks he had bought. "Naruto!" He could hardly hear himself in the resulting whisper of disbelief.
The blond boy turned around and grinned slyly at his caretaker. "Sensei," he stated, in a rumbling voice that was not his, "I feel /really/ strange now, hahah!" After that bitter laugh, he leapt over the bed and onto the opened windows, bounding outside, vanishing from sight faster than anybody in the room could notice.
"Shit!" Iruka cursed and ran over to the window. He leant out, noticed he could not see Naruto any longer, and cursed again. With one foot on the window sill, he looked back and commanded, "Hinata! Go get Kakashi-sensei! Tell him it's an emergency! And Sakura! Stay with Sasuke! Once he shows signs of waking up, force him to wake up! Then tell him to go find Kakashi! Now! Do it now!" He glared so hard, his eyeballs looked like they were about to fall out.
Hinata nodded mutely and scrambled away from the room, the same time Iruka vanished in a blur from the window. Sakura gaped, looking from the door to the window, realising suddenly that she was all alone in the room with Sasuke now. Although in normal circumstnces, she would have thought this to be romantic, currently the circumstances were anything but normal. She slumped back onto the stool, pensive and thoughtful.
So absorbed she was, that she did not notice Sasuke's fingers twitching, barely a few minutes later.
--------------------------------------------------------------
8/10/2004
Part 13 of 16
(email XD!) XD (at) tougenkyou (dot) net