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The Link

Chapter XI: Lightning and Thunder

Itachi worriedly patted Heion's back as the girl pillowed her head on his shoulder. Small sobs racked her fevered, small frame, and even through the thick woolen pajamas Itachi was wearing, he could feel the nasty heat reaching out to him. Soon Heion's tears wet his clothes and reached his skin. Itachi did not take his hand away from Heion's small back.

He and Sasuke had done what Orochimaru said. Today was the third day of Heion's fever. She was grumpier, her temper worse, and her poo remained wet. She would not drink her milk nor the water. Her sleep was very light, and she woke at even the slightest twitching of a blanket or a pillow, and the tiresome routine repeated itself. Itachi wished he knew why she was like this. Sasuke had apprehensively remarked that the girl had lost much weight (Itachi could feel it too) and that she was now very thin.

The storm was busy rampaging outside, rattling and pounding on the doors and windows. Electricity had been cut off since lunch time, and the lighting all over Konoha was provided with portable lamps, flash lights and the eternal tallow candle. Only the hospital, Hokage castle and Ninja Academy had generators.

"'ske...'ske..." Heion sobbed tearfully. "'ske..."

Itachi gave her a kiss on the head. "Sasuke, come here. She wants you."

There was a clatter from the kitchen, where Sasuke was trying to prepare some dinner through the illumination of a couple of candles. Itachi sensed his brother come, and Heion's weight left his body.

"Shh, come now...everything will be okay..." Itachi heard Sasuke say.

Itachi rose from Naruto's bed and placed his hands on his narrow hips. "She can't go on like this. What was her last reading?"

"Thirty-nine degrees Celsius." Sasuke said with much worry. "If that rises up..."

"She will have a convulsion." Itachi finished. "We can't allow that."

There was a moment of anxious silence.

Itachi was afraid they would come to this. But secrets could only be concealed for a period of time, not forever. He could not let the girl die of a fever. As much as he did not want to admit it, she had become part of him now, filling in the dead void in his chest. And she had brought him and Sasuke back together. He would not let all of that slip his fingers. The Akatsuki and most importantly the Truth could be saved for later.

"What do we do?" Sasuke asked him.

Itachi gave a deep sigh. "Take her to the hospital, Sasuke. Bring her to the best medic you can find."

"But Itachi..."

"I trust that you know how to lie, brother." Itachi continued. "If the worse comes to worse, then let it happen. I will come forward and...and that is that."

Sasuke was silenced. Itachi had called him brother. He had not done that for... "And what happens to you?"

"I will wait for you here."

Silence again.

The older Uchiha ran a hand through his loose hair. "Well don't stand there dawdling!"

"Take her from me first, here -!"

Heion's lessened weight crushed gently into Itachi's arms as Sasuke moved about practically, gathering the baby's spare clothes, diaper pack, milk bottles, water and milk into a large tote bag that was salvaged from under Naruto's bed. Itachi clutched Heion close, kissing her frequently on the head as Sasuke packed things hurriedly.

"I have everything we need..."

"Make sure she does not get wet."

"I will."

"Here she is..."

"Gently now...wait..."

Heion cried. "'tachi! 'tachi!"

Itachi blindly reached with his hands and held Heion's head in them. Sasuke was dumbstruck as he saw a single tear flow down his brother's cheek.

"Now, child, you must be taken away so you can be cured...daddy will wait here for you until you and uncle Sasuke return, all right?"

He planted a long, lingering kiss on the baby's forehead. "Take her, Sasuke. Run like the wind!"

Sasuke took Heion in under the large yellow raincoat he wore. They went by the lone window in Naruto's apartment, and for a long while Itachi looked out of the window blindly after them, letting the rain slick his hair and pajamas.

Everything had turned into a nightmare the moment Orochimaru took the blue pill two days ago. He and Naruto had made their way back to Tsunade's old house in the little hamlet of Kikuyu to resume their training. Orochimaru had put aside teaching the fox Kuchiyose Rashoumon and taught him Futon Daitoppa instead. Everything had been going well. Naruto was learning the Futon jutsu quickly and easily, and they were happy being back in the place with so many memories. Until that day of the blue pill.

Naruto had wondered what the pill was for. Orochimaru then told him the truth – about him releasing Fushi Tensei and returning to his old body and the pain borne of his stabilization stage. There was nothing harmful of the pill, Orochimaru said. It was a custom-made painkiller, nothing else. But Naruto could not explain why he had wanted to knock the tiny ball out of his mentor's hands. The explanation would come much later.

By noon Orochimaru had suddenly contracted a fever that increased in reading in an alarming speed, and by nine in the evening the Serpent was struck down, his temperature reaching forty degrees. Naruto was panicking but he knew he could not ask the villagers for help. He tried the best he could – he placed a wet towel on Orochimaru's forehead and changed it frequently, trying everything to ease his nerves.

Then Orochimaru started screaming in pain.

It was horrifying, his screams, the way they echoed in the small house, bouncing off the walls. Sometimes he managed to choke out words in between his agonized shouts. Words like "Help me", "Naruto-kun" and "Water".

Then the blood arrived.

Naruto had tried to catch whatever sleep there was before he decided to do anything rash. His sensei had stopped screaming a few hours ago and was now lying in an uneasy sleep, a filled ice bag on his forehead. His temperature refused to go down no matter what Naruto did.

Child. Child, wake up.

Naruto did not know whether to be shocked or terrified with the realization that the Kyuubi was talking to him in his sleep.

The Serpent is dying. Wake up.

The Kyuubi's last statement was uncalled-for, because his first pronouncement literally made Naruto bolt up. It was also raining outside, and by the deafening sound, an all-out downpour. Naruto immediately went to his mentor's side.

Orochimaru was awake, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He was so still that for one wild moment Naruto thought he'd died, but then the Serpent turned his head sideways. Blood was dripping from one of his nostrils and from the corners of his lips.

It was Naruto's turn to scream.

"I've been stupid." Orochimaru said weakly, his face registering nothing except disbelief as Naruto helped him sit up. "I should have known..."

"Don't speak too much, sensei! Here, sit up, come on, you have to have some of this soup..."

"That was why I've been feeling wary..." Orochimaru went on, brushing away Naruto's proffered spoonful of broth. "I should have known, I should have known..."

"Sensei, you must at least have some fill, please -!"

There was a crash as Orochimaru knocked the bowl out of Naruto's hands.

"Naruto-kun...do you think you could...?"

"What is it, sensei? Anything!"

A fresh trickle of blood came from Orochimaru's pale lips. "Take me to Tsunade."

Naruto was unable to answer for a while. The storm was at its worse, and traveling back to Konoha at such a weather and in darkness... "I can carry you on my back, sensei! We'll go there right away!" He rose and pulled off the blankets from his mentor. "Look, come on..."

It did not take them long to have Orochimaru clinging to Naruto's back and traveling back to Konoha in the middle of the storm. The Serpent was quite a burden to have, but Naruto had no place for complaints as he tried his best to navigate through the blurry sheet of rain and thick shadows around him.

"...I don't know how long I can last, Naruto-kun. I might be asking too much, but if you could take us there with the greatest speed..."

"We will arrive in Konoha before dawn, sensei! I promise you!"

The Serpent sighed, warming Naruto's neck for a moment. The rain splattered loudly on the improvised raincoat around both their bodies. "You are so warm, Naruto-kun. So warm and alive. I feel so cold. As cold as the grave..."

"Don't talk like that, sensei!" Naruto shouted as lightning flashed and thunder clapped. "You just cling to me and I'll give you some of my warmth!"

Orochimaru closed his eyes. "I pray we reach Konoha before I..."

You will not die! Naruto's thoughts rang inside his head as tears started to brim his eyes. But then it might not have been his tears, but the rain. He could no longer be sure. He had long stopped feeling any sensation on his nose and lips because of the biting cold. You will not die, sensei!

Heion was crying loudly by the time Sasuke reached the welcoming lights of the hospital. Discarding his raincoat on the tiled floors and clutching the baby close, ignoring his dripping hair and legs, Sasuke shouted for a medical nin as he rushed to the emergency room.

Apprentice Genins and Chuunins responded at once, taking Heion from him. Sasuke shouted for Sakura or Shizune, and it did not take long before Haruno Sakura arrived, looking frightened.

"Sasuke-kun! What is it -?"

"Not me, not me, I'm fine!" Sasuke said, flustered. "The baby – please see to her -!"

Sakura, fortunately, saw the graveness of the situation and did not bother with questions. Giving quick, brisk instructions to the Genin apprentices, she immediately took Heion and laid the baby down on one of the immaculate white stretchers, her hands moving purposefully on the baby's head and neck. Sasuke watched her as he sat on a bench, a towel around his shoulders.

Sasuke let Sakura and her medics to their work as he prayed incessantly in his mind. Please let her be all right...let her be all right... and then there was a slight commotion as the Genins Sakura sent to fetch ice water returned, but this time they were being headed by a woman Sasuke had never seen before, bearing a head protector of the Hidden Mist.

And then it hit Sasuke. The woman's eyes were purple! But even before he could react properly, there was a crash as the woman dropped the bucket she had been holding.

"MIYABI! OH, MIYABI!"

The woman snatched Heion from Sakura's hands and clutched her close, kissing her over and over on the head, mouth and cheeks as tears flowed from her purple eyes. Sasuke found himself on his feet, kunai in hand.

"HEY!" he shouted. "YOU PUT DOWN MY NIECE RIGHT NOW, WHOEVER YOU ARE!"

Waiting did not suit Uchiha Itachi. The silence of Naruto's apartment was too heavy, too thick...too uncomfortable. Many times the Uchiha ex-prodigy paced around the room, listening for the rain or whatever there was to hear. The silence was too unnerving.

Moving toward the closet, Itachi took out one of Naruto's raincoats and put them over his pajamas. He would follow Heion and Sasuke to the hospital, and to hell about being spotted and caught. He wanted to know how his daughter was doing.

Opening the window, Itachi fled into the darkness and rain, hopping over the rooftops of Konoha. Gods, the storm must have been sent on purpose to be this strong. Lightning forked across the sky, and thunder boomed so loud that in spite of himself Itachi crouched down and covered his ears.

That momentary distraction was fatal, however. Itachi did not even manage to scream when the Samehada came slashing across his back, scattering drops of his blood in midair.