Author's Notes:
I know I know. I haven't updated this damn fic for like 7 months. So sue me! I had a busy life and my now, ex lover, dumped me and made my life a living hell, he stalked me and so on, but now I finally got off my lazy ass, and with Kyuubi-kun's help, I decided to start writing again.
Kyuubi-kun: Aww, I feel special. I'm an inspiration! Or maybe I'm just a nag. Either way, I poke people to update soon! Mwa haa haa!
Twist of Fate
Synopsis : Naruto's in a coma but why? Tsunade explains Naruto's condition, while somewhere, Orochimaru learns that the Kyubi brat is still alive, but for how long?
Pairings : No Pairings in this story. BUT there will be a sequel, since so many of you wanted one, thus it will have pairings. Suggestions are welcomed.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto but wish I did.
JUTSU LIST :
No Jutsus in this chapter.
JAPANESE WORDS
- baka idiot -
- dobe dead last -
- Arigatou Thank You -
- 'Kuso Damn it -
"Speech" When characters are speaking
'Thoughts' When characters are thinking
Change of PLACES will be in bold letters-Example- This means a change of area within the same place, location.
Previously …
The Genins were told the biggest secret Uzumaki held. Much to the Sennin and the few Jounins present, most student saw Naruto as Naruto and not as the Kyubi no Kitsune. By the time this information started to sink in, Tsunade and Shizune enter the room, informing them of Naruto's current condition.
Uzumaki Naruto slipped into a coma.
Chapter 9 : Face Your Fears
Tsunade made it clear to the hospital staff, that no one was to know about Naruto's current state, but despite her direct orders, the information leaked, alerting the villagers that the vessel of the demon Kyubi, was in a coma. But what pleased them even more, was that he might never wake up due to the trauma his body received.
Knowing this angered Tsunade more than anything else that was happening currently. Hadn't they realized that if it wasn't for that boy, they would have lost their precious Uchiha Sasuke, as well as the team sent to retrieve the rogue genin?
Of course they didn't. They would never look at Naruto as something human, as a someone. To them, he would always be a demon.
As the Hokage, she had to cover the truth up to protect the Village. If word came out that the Hokage herself, sent a bunch of genins, with a newly promoted Chuunin on a suicide mission, since they were low on shinobis, the other countries, especially enemies, would take this opportunity and attack.
Desired or not, Konoha was vulnerable.
As if she didn't have enough already to deal with. That damn pervert Jiraiya was no where to be found. Just like him to disappear when he's actually needed.
Aside from that shinobi missing, now she had to deal with Sasuke. Unfortunately, she lacked the time to properly look over the case, since other things were more pressing than this …
Thankfully, Kakashi was more than happy to watch over his student, thus he offered to be his "somewhat guardian." Of course the young Uchiha wasn't too happy about it, but by the glare she gave him, he understood she could've done much worse for his betrayal of the Leaf.
Once that was made clear, Tsunade forbade any genins, to speak to any other shinobi, with the exception of those currently present at that time, to speak of what truly happened about Sasuke's betrayal and finding out Kyubi's sealed within Naruto.
Soon enough, they were all dismissed.
Tsunade sighed, thinking back to that day, it always reminder her of how she lost her little brother and lover.
Although Naruto was technically still alive and breathing, his vitals and condition never changed, which worried her even more.
A week passed, and Naruto's condition didn't get any better, on the contrary, it seemed to only get worse.
Konoha's Hospital
- Naruto's Room -
Like he did every morning, Umino Iruka made sure to drop by to have a little chat with his former student. He knew more than anyone else about the boy's condition, but that never stopped him once, from thinking that he would one day wake up from his eternal sleep.
He still had hope.
Hope that the boy would one day wake up. Iruka maintained hope that the boy would laugh once he woke, telling them all about his extraordinary bravery and strength, then going on to tell about he would be the best Hokage in history.
Stepping into the room, he pulled out his usual chair, bringing it as close as possible to where the boy's body rested.
"Naruto," Iruka softly spoke the name of his student, gently brushing those long blond bangs to the side of his face.
He glanced over to the machines on the other side of the bed. One to monitor his heart, another, making sure he had all the oxygen he needed to help his recovery.
How he hated to hear those sounds. Always the same sound, but that did kind of prove that his student was still alive right?
Without even noticing it, Iruka found himself deep within his own depressing thoughts, but quickly snapped out of them, upon hearing a soft click behind him.
"I can't believe I actually have to check up on that… that thing …," a voice grumbled under their breath. Only with his heightened shinobi senses was Iruka able to hear what had been said. The nurse entered the room, accompanied by a doctor, but both were unaware of the Chuunin's presence within it.
Iruka quickly stood up on his own two feet, glaring at the door, while the second person, who seemed to be the doctor, walked inside.
"Don't blame me. It was the Hokage's orders to keep it alive, so my hands are tied," the doctor explained with a very hateful tone. Anyone with half a brain could see that these people were the kind that really despised Naruto and took him as the Kyubi and not a normal boy.
With the door wide open, the nurse quickly stopped, looking in front of her.
There stood a very angry Iruka.
"Umino-san? What brings you to our hospital?" The doctor asked, keeping his cool.
"I actually came to check up on my student." Iruka coldly answered. Oh, how he hated this particular type of villagers. They were the worse when it came 'let's mentally torture the demon.' He even wondered if they ever took their torture up to the next level …
"You are aware that visiting hours only start at 9 A.M," the doctor reminded the Chuunin. It wasn't as though the doctor really cared that Iruka had come before visiting hours. What pissed him off the more, was someone actually visiting that … that disgusting monster.
"Hai, but Tsu …" Before Iruka could even finish his sentence, the doctor quickly interrupted him.
"Then come back during visiting hours," the doctor coldly replied. In his mind, anyone who befriended or cared about the boy were just as bad as the brat himself.
Iruka had always been very polite to others, even to those he didn't like all that much, but now, his patience was wearing quite thin.
"Now please leave. I need to check on him to see if it's still breathing." The doctor stated, making his way towards the single bed. The nurse trailed behind him, both completely ignoring the Chuunin present.
Iruka was a patient man. Being a teacher to a bunch of kids, forces you to develop such a quality. However, enough is enough.
Iruka moved, but not towards the door like the good doctor had ordered him. No. Instead, the shinobi walked the opposite way, where his former student laid.
"If you do not obey me, I will have you thrown in jail for the rest of the week." The doctor threatened the young man. Unfortunately for him, his words fell to deaf ears.
"Now you listen to me!" Iruka raised his voice. Nobody liked it when Iruka raised his voice, for very good reasons. His voice changed when he raised it, becoming one that was cold and frightening. "I have special permission from the Hokage herself. If you have any problems with that, take it up with her! And be sure that I'll inform her of your misconduct to follow the Third's rules as well. Now get out!" the chuunin yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing out the good old door to both medical personnel.
"This isn't over yet." the doctor growled, glaring at the young man before him. His words were not heeded, especially not against a teacher of elementary shinobi.
"Just get out." Iruka repeated himself. The tone of his voice implied that he would not do so again.
Both the doctor and the nurse were quite furious that someone stood up for that – that thing in there. They quickly left the room, but the Chuunin could be sure that he would fill out a complaint. Surely the Hokage wouldn't believe something this stupid. At least, that was what they thought. They believed that the Hokage would have enough dignity not to stoop to aid the Kyuubi brat. She was their Hokage, after all.
Iruka glanced towards the door, making sure that the two medical personnel were gone for good. Well, at least for an hour or so, the more logical part of his brain corrected him.
He closed his eyes and sighed, calming his rage.
It had been a long time since he was this angry at others. Even when he yelled at Naruto or the kids in his class, he wasn't truly angry. He was glad that those two left, though. He didn't know what he might have done if they tried their luck and stayed. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the time.
"Well I suppose I can be a little late this morning …" He told himself. After all, most of the students would only arrive half an hour later then the usual time. At least he could stay with Naruto a bit longer.
He walked closer to the bed, looking down on that sleepy face. As stupid as it sounded, Naruto looked as though he was finally at peace this way.
"Just by hearing those two … I wonder if what Tsunade-sama said about your condition, could be true …" Iruka let out in sadly. Seeing the boy he considered like a little brother, he wondered, for the first time, if he was ever going to wake up. The boy's face gave off no answered to his doubts, but neither did it help fuel his hopes. The boy was blank, and that pained Iruka.
It was hard to admit, but he sure missed the old days when Naruto came running to him, asking to be treated to ramen at Ichiraku. That or when the boy tackled him to the ground whenever he saw him. Or when he finally graduated the Academy, the look of surprise mixed with happiness that came to those cerulean blue eyes. Or when Naruto showed up at class the next morning, proudly displaying his Konoha ninja headband. There were several times that Iruka had been proud of Naruto, had loved him as a son or a brother.
Thinking back at those moments, those happy times that he had spent with Naruto, Iruka fervently hoped that they would not be the last.
Sasuke's House
- Bedroom -
Every morning was the same since his return to Konohagakure. The young prodigy woke up at the same time as the sun rose itself, replacing the darkness by light, just as he replaced the shadows of dreams with the harsh brilliance of reality. He rubbed his eyes, the sudden light that illuminated the entire room making him feel groggy.
"Awake I presume?" came the soft voice near his bedroom door.
It was always the same since that day. The same voice that greeted the young boy every morning. The same question always asked. Kakashi was the first one to wake up as usual, waiting until the young Uchiha did as well.
"Hn," came Sasuke's usual reply, not daring to look in his sensei's visible eye. Ever since his 'little escapade,' he never found courage to look into that eye, knowing that he would see how disappointed his teacher was in him. After all, Kakashi had warned him about going down that path…
"We're doing something different this morning." Kakashi wasted no time in telling the young boy.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. This would be different – a step out of the normal routine. He wondered what it could possibly be. After all, he was mostly imprisoned in his damn house, with that pervert Kakashi, making sure to talk some more sense into him.
"What for?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of his normal stoic mood. He hated being cooped up, but it was obvious that this was the better punishment to live through.
"I'll inform you once you're ready." With that said, Kakashi left the bedroom, giving his young student the privacy he required.
The young Uchiha sighed. He hated when his sensei acted like this, but who could blame the Jounin? He did turn his back on Konoha, going to one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world for power, for the promise of strength. He had turned his back on Sakura, on Kakashi, on all the rookie genin and every shinobi that had ever taught him something for an empty promise.
He had turned away from his life, his team… his Naruto…
Sasuke found himself quite lucky that the newly appointed Hokage had sent a team after him. God knows what would have happened if he ended up in Orochimaru's hands.
The Uchiha was thankful, for once. If it hadn't been for Naruto (that loud mouthed shinobi, and the way he could irritate people to the point where they lost sight of their objectives), he would be something along the lines of Orochimaru's bitch.
Uzumaki Naruto. The dobe.
If it wasn't for that very person - the person who he came to respect and consider a close friend, as hard as he tried to deny it – he wouldn't be here. He would merely be a puppet, the strings attached to his limbs being maneuvered by Orochimaru.
To think that dobe would actually one day save his sorry ass from making a terrible mistake … How funny that seemed.
His anger towards Itachi had clouded his judgment, but Orochimaru's curse sure didn't help him either.
Without even realizing it, he found himself dressed up in his latest clothes. Black pants and a shirt. He proceeded into wrapping new bandages around each wrists, not really thinking about what he was doing. Once the arm guards were put on correctly, the boy raised his head to look at the wall before him.
Again, he found himself thinking about his former teammate.
Why? He really didn't know. Or perhaps he simply didn't want to admit to himself, that not having Naruto around, made him feel lonelier than ever …
And if what the Hokage said about that idiot was true … he might never be able to see that idiot smile ever again.
The worst part was – there was no one to blame for that but himself.
FLASHBACK
Konoha Hospital
- Empty Room -
The genins had just been told the deepest secret of Uzumaki Naruto. Each of them thought carefully about how this might change their separate relationships with the bright boy. However, this new information shed new light on so many things around their little blonde friend that they had always been confused about.
Only Sakura seemed to be more phased out than the others. After all, she was processing this information that told her that her own teammate, the number one loudmouth and prankster of Konohagakure, was the host of the terrifying demon fox, the Kyubi no Kitsune.
Unfortunately for these genin, they only had a few minutes to actually process this new information. The Hokage herself, as well as her right-hand assistance Shizune, joined them.
"How's dobe?" Sasuke dared to be the first to ask, knowing that the others wouldn't. He was bolder than his peers. This had been proven to all that knew of his adventure when Sasuke had journeyed with the thoughts of joining Orochimaru.
"I did what I could, but it wasn't enough …" Tsunade answered, staring right back at the small group. They could see the pain in her bright eyes. She wasn't going to lie to the group. She knew that in order to allow them to accept the information she bore, she needed to be entirely truthful.
"Oy, Naruto's not dead again is he?" Kiba nearly jumped out of his seat, but his wounds prevented him from doing so. However, even with the wounds, his glare and tone demanded an answer.
Tsunade stared back at them, sadness written all over her face, worrying the genins and the adults even more.
The silence was just too much to take for a certain black haired shinobi.
Lee stepped forward.
"Please answer." Lee politely asked of his leader.
"Naruto just slipped into a state of coma." Tsunade clearly stated, her voice telling them that she would not say it twice.
That statement alone, hit them like a thousand bricks.
First, they exhaled relieved that their friend and teammate wasn't dead, but him being in a coma wasn't good news either.
'Naruto's in a coma..? How?' Kiba really couldn't believe his own ears.
"How … how can he …" Sakura tried hard to finish her sentences, but failed. With all that had been happening, thinking straight was a bit hard under these circumstances.
"Tsunade-sama and I managed to remove the curse that the traitor, Kabuto placed on Naruto-kun, but there were a few … complications …" Shizune tried her best to make it sound less bad than it sounded. It didn't work.
"Complications?" Neji repeated, seeing how all shinobi turning their attention towards the Fifth Hokage and her assistant.
"Hai," Tsunade answered, brushing her long pigtails behind.
"Naruto only slipped into a coma after the final curse mark was removed," Tsunade began, ignoring the stares she got from the teenagers.
"What are you saying?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He really didn't know where this was going, but wherever this was going, it wouldn't have a happy ending..
"Although the curse has been removed, there's a fifty percent chance that it permanently affected his chakra system, which would explain why he's in a coma," Tsunade clearly explained in terms that everyone understood.
"But he'll wake up?" Neji questioned in his usual cool voice.
"If his chakra system is too 'damaged', his condition will only deteriorate. Even with Kyubi healing him, it won't be enough to correct the damage." Tsunade spoke softly, carefully observing each and every shinobi present in the room.
"What do you mean by …" Sakura was about ask but Neji clarified the meaning behind the words of their leader.
"He'll die, right?" It wasn't a question, but more of an affirmation of the Hokage's words.
All stared at Neji, surprised at how bluntly, and uncaring he seemed when he spoke those words. The truth was, he just hated when people didn't admit things openly and clearly. It was a trait that could be affiliated with Naruto's attitude towards the same thing.
"Hai," Tsunade softly spoke. Just saying that simple word made the entire room fall into complete silence. This tension was only broken only by the horrified gasps that came from all the occupants who didn't know what she was inferring.
"So either way, he's still going to die..?" Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Sure she found that blond boy annoying and all, but even he didn't deserve such a cruel fate. To be stuck in his head until Death claimed him – no one deserved that kind of suffereing.
Sakura was on the verge of crying again. Much to everyone's surprise, Shikamaru, stepped before the entire group and faced the Hokage.
"Although this is quite troublesome, you people really should pay more attention to the Hokage's words," he bluntly stated to the group, looking bored as usual.
"Shikamaru! This isn't the time for you to act like a lazy shinobi! Naruto's going to die!" Sakura snapped at the boy, tears streaming down her face. She was angry at how that lazy boy seemed unaffected by the news. Surely he understood how devastating this news was. His childhood friend was going to die.
"Sakura." A familiar voice called out her name. She quickly turned around and noticed it was indeed Uchiha Sasuke speaking to her, in a rather cold tone. She nearly had a usual fantasy about him when he ordered, "Shut up and listen" before glancing back at Shikamaru.
Sasuke easily saw right through the newly promoted Chuunin. Shikamaru picked up something, something that most of them weren't able to process and analyze due to their emotions. He wanted to know what Shikamaru knew. Any hope that his rival – no, his friend would be okay, he wanted to hear.
"Hokage-sama, you only said there was a fifty percent chance that he would die. What about the other fifty percent you mentioned?" Shikamaru asked, locking eyes with the blond adult.
Tsunade stared back at the boy. A bit surprised at how blunt the young shinobi could be.
"I warned you, didn't I?" Asuma told here, smirking as though he had just won a lucky gamble.
Although his eyes were closed, he could feel the intensity of the glare that the Hokage sent his way.
"The adults already hated Naruto, mistreating him in many ways. The only thing he had going for him, was the fact that the younger generation wasn't aware of him being the vessel to the Kyubi," Tsunade explained as clearly as she could. "And now his worst fear has happened."
The boy's emotions were a puzzle. Sometimes, Tsunade wondered if even he could truly explain how he felt about the burden that had been placed upon his shoulders when he was born. She wondered that, if asked, Naruto would be able to give a clear response about how he accepted the Kyubi no Kitsune in his stomach. Then again, knowing Naruto, he wouldn't give an answer – he would just smile at them.
"He knows that we now know about him being Kyubi." Shikamaru added, in a rather low voice.
"His world just came crashing down on him," Lee whispered softly, which surprised quite a few. After all, Lee's dreams were crushed for quite some time after his harsh battle with Gaara of the Sand. If it hadn't been for the Fifth Hokage, his dream of becoming a great ninja would have been shattered for good. No one else would have been able to heal him from his injuries.
"Poor Naruto …" Kiba pitied the boy with good reason. To always be hated, but to also live constantly in a lie. The thing that must have been horrible was lying to his friends all the time. The smiling idiot never really had anyone he could trust to see him as a human. He never had anyone to confide in..
"Are you saying that he's willingly staying in a coma because of this?" Neji asked, concerned for the boy who had freed him from his invisible cage.
"That is the other possibility." Tsunade replied, rubbing her temple. All this talking was giving her a massive headache.
Silence consumed the room once more.
Now they all knew about Naruto's condition. Worse than that – they all knew Naruto's silent wish.
"Unfortunately…" Tsunade broke the silence. "I have other things to attend to. Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke and Umino Iruka, stay here. We have a few things to straighten out. As for the rest of you, you're all dismissed," Tsunade told her subordinates. Just by her voice, she was definitely not pleased with the actions that the last Uchiha did.
All exchanged worried looks, not really wanting to leave. However, some were in need of many days of rest before they would even start to become their old selves one more. Today being the exception, of course.
"Tsunade-sama ..?" Lee dared to speak out.
"What is it?" she asked tersely. Lee could feel that her patience was wearing thin.
"Would it be ok, if I could go visit him a bit later?" the boy wanted to know. He was a bit nervous of the answer he would get.
Her features softened a little at the question. It was nice that someone wanted to visit him, despite what they all just learned. It showed that Naruto was truly accepted by his peers.
"Feel free to visit him at any time you wish," she answered in a soft voice. She looked around at all of the curious faces that wanted to know the answer to the question. Smiling slowly at this, she continued, "Any of you. I'm sure that this will help him get through this."
"Roger!" Lee raised his hand, to salute their Hokage. He was very happy that he could see Naruto. Perhaps he could even help him come back to the living world, if it was indeed the second case scenario that Tsunade had previously outlined.
Gai was proud of his student – more so than he had ever been before. Lee would always think about the well-being of others before the thought of his own ever crossed his mind. It was just another trait that showed how kind the boy really was.
The others nodded, before going back to their own hospital room, in order to receive the proper care they needed.
Shikamaru took one last glance to the room, before he walked out, soon followed by his former teacher, Asuma.
"I'll look over your student until you're finished," Asuma reassured Kakashi. They all knew how much Sakura only wanted to stay behind, if only to be with Sasuke. After all, she had finally told him how she felt towards him. It didn't matter if he didn't feel the same. He needed someone there for him right now, right?
"Thanks," was the only word Kakashi spoke, his eyes never leaving the young student that stood before him.
Once the door closed, only five people remained within the room: Kakashi, Iruka, Sasuke, Tsunade and Shizune.
"Iruka, Naruto always spoke about you, so feel free to visit him at any time. I'll alert the doctors and nurses to let you through." Tsunade knew that the young Chuunin always treated Naruto like his little brother, even sometimes, like he was his son. She admired him for that.
"I really thank you, Hokage-sama." Iruka first wondered why she asked him to stay, but either way, he would have asked her for that 'special permission'. It was easier now that he didn't have to deal with actually approaching her.
"I'm sure you wish to see him as we speak. You can go Iruka. I'll be over there shortly, once I've dealt with another problem." Tsunade glared over to Sasuke.
Knowing too well at who she was glaring at, Iruka realized that it was best if he left. He had the feeling that this was one discussion that wasn't something that he wanted to listen in on.
"Hai," Iruka let out, showing his respect towards her before hastily leaving the room.
Now with him gone, Tsunade didn't need to hold back her anger anymore. Kakashi could guess, that this was going to be a painful conversation. He wondered if it was right for him to be here. Looking at Tsunade, he figured that it was for the best that he stayed. If looks could kill, he would already be arranging the funeral of one Uchiha Sasuke.
As he predicted, Tsunade wasted no time go straight to the point.
"You idiot! Do you know all the trouble you've caused?" Tsunade snapped at the boy. Her golden gaze rounding angrily on the boy.
Sasuke half expected that the Hokage would be pissed, but he had never expected what she did next.
"Hokage-sama!" Kakashi barely had time to shout her name, too stunned by her next action to really catch himself well..
Tsunade grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt. Despite the fact that the boy was still wounded and feeling the after effects of the curse seal on his neck, she picked up the boy. Slamming him against the wall, the Hokage made sure that his feet never touched the ground.
Sasuke, at first startled by this woman's action, soon regained his bearings. He glowered at her, quickly wrapping his hands around her wrist, but she proved too strong for him, and his weak struggles were getting him nowhere.
Dark gold eyes glared right back into those glowing red ones.
"What the hell were you thinking, boy?" She shouted, clearly showing the anger she had suppressed for the sake of the other shinobi.
Kakashi wanted more than anything to interfere, but the moment he even took a step closer, she gave her nastiest and coldest glare that he had ever seen. It paralyzed him, keeping him where he was for the moment.
"Do you even realize what you've done?" she continued, her voice rising with every word she spoke. "Your lust for power in order to get revenge for your clan has only blinded you, reacting without once thinking of the consequences of your actions on both yourself and this Village." Her grip slowly loosened around his pale neck, enough to let him speak After all, she was Hokage – she had to listen to her subordinates' side of an argument.
"So?" the Uchiha scoffed. Even under such a situation, Sasuke wasn't one to let his cold exterior break before others. But the way he answered her, left both Kakashi and Tsunade wonder if he even cared at all for all the trouble he caused.
Tsunade was somewhat shocked by his answer, but she knew that loosing it wouldn't help either. She was letting her own emotions taking over at this very moment. That was unprofessional. It didn't matter that this boy was responsible for the condition of her "little brother." He didn't put Naruto in the blonde's current condition, he was just the reason behind all of it.
She released her grip on him, but not before giving him one last slam against the wall, making sure this one would struggle to only stand.
She was happy to observe that she accomplished her goal.
If it wasn't for the wall behind him, his ass would be sitting on the cold floor right now. His legs slightly trembled, while his back and his free hand rested against the wall, maintained his balance, as well as supporting his body weight.
A few minutes passed, before anyone dared to even make a sound. To this point, Tsunade knew that whatever words came out of her mouth, the Uchiha would pay no attention to her. She wracked her brain. She had to get this boy to listen to her. A small smile flitted across her face. She might as well hit his weak point – it would be the only way that he would listen to her.
"Tell me brat, do you not realize that by going to Orochimaru, you've only proven to us all, Itachi more than anyone, how weak you truly were?" she growled. She watched him closely. It was obvious she had caught Sasuke's attention.
"Nani?" Clearly, Sasuke never expected such a remark, escaping the Hokage's lips.
"I've heard how much you despise your brother for what he did, to test his skills and so on. It's quite funny actually. You claim to despise him with every fiber of your very being, but in reality, you're truly beginning to turn just like that traitor, Uchiha Itachi, turned out to be in the end," she finished. She knew that would strike a nerve, but for anyone that examined the situation and recent events, the boy's actions were slowly leading down the same path that Itachi once walked.
"I'm nothing like that bastard!" Sasuke yelled out, summoning his last strength to his sore limbs. He launched himself off the wall, ready to attack Tsunade, without once thinking of the consequences.
Unfortunately for him, Tsunade neither pitied nor cared about the condition of people that were being so easily manipulated by evil forces.
She quickly dodged the attack, but in return, landed a hard one into the boy's stomach. With her strength, it was to no one's surprise that Sasuke's body tumbled backwards, hitting the hard wall that he had sprinted off only seconds before.
There laid Uchiha Sasuke, unable to even stand on his own two feet, but that didn't stop him from glaring at the woman who had just insulted him.
"Kakashi. Officially, I have no time to deal with him right now," she bluntly told him. "Until I have some free time, you're his full time, appointed guardian. If he tries anything, make sure he regrets it." Although it was an order, to Kakashi and Sasuke, it was clearly a threat, one to not take too lightly. With that said, she left the two alone.
Sasuke continued to glare as the woman left the room, while Kakashi simply stared at her retreating back. A shinobi was trained to be able to read underneath the underneath. Tsunade had just informed him that if Sasuke pulled a stunt like that again, she was giving him permission to kill the boy. The thought of what she meant, made him shiver. He had never seen the Hokage become this angry and to be at the end of that anger was definitely not good.
"Sasuke. Time for us to have a little talk," Kakashi finally said, not even looking at the boy.
END OF FLASHBACK
Sasuke's House
- Bedroom -
Recalling such a moment, made his blood boil. That woman bluntly had told him how weak he was for going to Orochimaru. But in his mind, she didn't need to rub it in any further.
"'Kuso!" He cursed, hitting the wall instead of the mirror.
He looked before him, seeing the damages he inflicted upon a poor defenseless wall. He sighed as he surveyed the destruction.
Loosing control over his emotions was very rare. He shook his head. It wasn't the time to think too much about the past. He only wanted one thing at the moment, and that was to go see his teammate, his … friend.
- Hallway -
As Sasuke expected, his sensei waited for him outside, although he could have passed the opportunity to see him once again with his Icha Icha Paradise in hand.
"Ready?" Kakashi asked, his eyes never once leaving the content of his favorite book.
"Ah …" came Sasuke's usual reply. By now, Kakashi was more than use to this type of answer. Since the 'accident', Sasuke was one to speak even less than he had before going off to meet Orochimaru. Kakashi wasn't sure why, but he suspected it had something to do with Naruto.
"Then follow me," Kakashi replied, closing his book, no longer seeking balance from the wall.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Sure he was used to Kakashi being like this. However, today he felt that his own sensei seemed more serious than his usual way of playing around.
Oh well, wherever the Jounin was bringing him, he would soon know for what reasons and why.
Hokage's Tower
- Hallway -
It only took them a few minutes to arrive at their location. Kakashi remained silent, as usual, while Sasuke pondered what awaited him once they reached it. Seeing how they made it to the Hokage's office, this only meant a long argument with the Hokage herself. He only hoped that this time, things would go much smoother than their last encounter.
"By now, you know why I must have brought you here," the Jounin spoke to his student, both standing only meters away from the door.
"Che. If it's another lecture, I'm going back home." Sasuke replied, in his usual, well his old tone of voice. Indifferent.
"Actually, I'm here to get some news about a certain someone, since babysitting you, doesn't give me any other choice but to drag you along with me." Kakashi told him nonchalantly. He knew that by using the word baby-sit, he could anger the Uchiha so easily. Sasuke already hated the idea of being watched over and having limited access to the Village because of his latest adventure.
Sasuke glared up at his teacher. Oh how he hated to be in this god damn situation.
"Now be nice and stay here, Sasuke." The silver-haired man grinned as he patted the boy's head.
"Che. It's not like I have anywhere else to go." Sasuke shot back, crossing his arms.
Kakashi just smiled. "With you, I can never be too careful. After all, you could just leave and go check on Naruto. And that's why I'm leaving him here." He pointed to the Anbu in the corner.
Sasuke cursed to himself as Kakashi made his way within Tsunade's office.
- Hokage's Office -
Kakashi walked in, taking one last glance at his young student before closing the door behind him.
"About time you showed up." Tsunade growled from behind her stack of paperwork.
"Well, I had to make sure that little Sasuke wouldn't escape," Kakashi said respectfully.
"This would be a bad time for him to leave us again. Now, I suppose you're here because you want to know about Naruto's condition," Tsunade wanted to know. Sometimes, Kakashi was easy to read while at other times, he was little more than a perverted rock.
"Hai." Kakashi answered, waiting to be briefed as usual.
- Hallway -
Sasuke glanced around, seeing that the Anbu really wasn't taking him seriously. Actually, the shinobi probably thought that Sasuke wouldn't try anything against an Anbu.
Boy, was that ninja wrong.
Sasuke may have had his hands in his pocket, but his eyes were focused on the Anbu. Seeing how this one totally underestimated him, he knew that tricking him would be easy.
Yet something was odd – and it was bothering the Uchiha. The Anbu seemed to only observe, which was uncommon for them to just stand and watch. And why the hell would Kakashi assign an Anbu. That wasn't like him at all. Ever since leaving the Anbu forces, Kakashi had been somewhat reluctant to work with them. He had told Team Seven that working with the Anbu reminded him too much of people that he had loved and lost, so he preferred never to be around them.
Sharingan, he told himself, allowing the swirling crimson to leak into his own obsidian irises.
He observed his temporary caretaker and noticed how this one was very different.
Kakashi? Did you do that on purpose? Sasuke wondered, seeing how this supposed Anbu was nothing more than a Kage Bunshin.
Sasuke dashed forward, punching the fake Anbu member. A loud poof was heard as it instantly disappeared.
Sasuke smirked at the shadow of where the "Anbu" had been.
- Hokage's Office -
Tsunade was about to continue to brief Kakashi when she felt Sasuke's presence simply vanished. Hadn't that boy understood yet that he was already walking on extremely thin ice?
The Hokage prepared herself to walk through that door, seizing the boy before he could escape to God knows where but to her surprise Kakashi blocked her way.
"Kakashi! Move aside!" she ordered him, problem was, he wasn't moving at all. "What's the matter with you? Sasuke's –" She didn't even have time to finish her own sentence when the Jounin grinned under his mask.
"Leaving?" he finished for her, confusing her as to why he had yet reacted to his own student escaping his clutches. After all, he was responsible for the boy and whatever action the brat would take.
"Kakashi. Why aren't you trying to stop…?" Tsunade couldn't even finish her sentence when Kakashi cut her off.
"Sasuke was never one to listen, unless I tied him up against a post." The copy ninja replied, smiling at the woman before him. "Even then, he has been known to ignore my advice."
"Explain yourself. Or I'll make sure you never read those damn books again." She threatened. Everyone knew she had a bad temper, but it could become worse when it involved Naruto.
"Mah mah, no need to go to threatening the good book, Hokage-sama," he teased with a mischievous smile.
"Just spit it out already." Tsunade sighed, slowly massaging her temples. Having a serious talk with this Jounin was always hard, and took a lot of her patience, which she already had so little …
"After seven days, Naruto's condition hasn't improved or worsened since that day when he was brought in. We have tried just about everything we could think of, except for one." Kakashi began to explain. "Uchiha Sasuke." He finally spoke out the name.
"Kakashi. Remember that the reason Naruto's in that hospital, hanging between life and death is because of that heartless brat!" Tsunade spat at the man, glaring at him with such cold eyes.
Kakashi shrugged. "Still, we can't ignore that those two have always had a strange bond, an attachment to each other. Although they call it simply being rivals, deep down, they've considered themselves as friends…" Kakashi told her. Talking about a sensitive subject such as this made it quite hard to make any type of sense. After all, it had been thanks to Obito, that his way of thinking and acting around others changed for the best. He didn't want Sasuke to end up like he had when Obito had died. "To this point, I truly believe that the only thing, no, the only person who can save Naruto is Sasuke himself."
There was a long tense silence before either spoke again.
Kakashi was momentarily lost in the events that led up to the death of his former teammate, Uchiha Obito. Tsunade was questioning whether Kakashi's words were true or not. All of the sudden, she understood the meaning behind them.
"Kakashi." Her tone was no longer as hard and rash as minutes ago, but more, understanding now. "If he does anything, I'll kill him myself. Got it?" She made it pretty clear to him.
"Hai." Such a simple word escaped his hidden lips.
With that last word spoke, Kakashi took his leave. His destination, Konoha's hospital. Sure he trusted his student, but if his little idea actually worked, than he wanted to be present, for both his students. Call it a teacher's pride if nothing else.
Konoha Hospital
- Outside the hospital-
Although this was his first time visiting the boy since the first time he was brought in half dead, that is, Sasuke wasn't all that anxious. He just wanted to see his friend, maybe even yell at the blonde for worrying everyone like this.
While he 'escaped' the Hokage's place, he had managed to go undetected by any other shinobi, as well as the staff hospital. The young prodigy had no other choice but to slip inside Naruto's room by the window.
Although Sasuke was confined within his own house, he remembered how one night, Iruka came over, informing Kakashi about Naruto's condition, as well as the few people that visited him daily, just like the hospital staff that didn't always check up on the boy.
Sasuke finally found Naruto's bedroom window, now all was left, is to get inside the room itself.
He looked around, sure he could use chakra and walk vertically on the wall, but that would be too obvious and give out his position if the Hokage sent an Anbu squad on his tail.
Luckily for him, there happened to be a tree tall enough to reach the bedroom, and have access to the window.
- Naruto's Bedroom -
For a change, the room was warm, thanks to the rays of the sun that came through the window slinking past the shade of the tree that Sasuke had used as his entrance. The fact that the curtains were open proved that Iruka had passed by earlier this morning. Sasuke didn't doubt that Iruka had been by to visit everyday. Who knew how long the Chuunin actually spent here, in this cramped hospital room.
The window slowly slid open, making no sound to alert anyone that there was someone outside the room. His entrance didn't go entirely unnoticed, however. When Sasuke first stepped within the room, he sure didn't expect for a certain shinobi to be standing by Naruto's bedside.
"Uchiha-san?" the shinobi spoke softly, but it was noticeable that he was indeed surprised to see the other boy coming in the room through the window.
Sasuke's head shot up, meeting the eyes of the third occupant in the room. Hadn't Iruka told that lazy Jounin how no one visited Naruto? Now being discovered, he was sure to not be able to see or spend even a little time with Naruto now.
He was expecting a Chuunin or a medical personnel to be present, since they called him by Uchiha and not his first name like the other genins usually do (or call him Uchiha-san, for that matter).
Much to his surprise, it wasn't the person he thought, but totally a person he never expected to be there.
"Rock Lee." Sasuke murmured. He was completely in the room now. His eyes darted around, trying to find out if there were any other hidden people.
"You need not to worry about me revealing your presence." Lee stated, clearing up that matter with a smile. Although he didn't know Naruto nor Sasuke that much, with what he saw, he could sense the bond the two shared. It was similar to the strange friendship that existed between Neji and himself.
"I … appreciate that …," Sasuke was never one to really thank others, but Lee understood the message behind those words perfectly. Sasuke reminded Lee a lot of Neji. Both were full of tremendous pride.
"There's been no change in his condition …" Lee informed the other boy, the sadness in his voice could easily be heard. Lee sat back down on the chair, while his eyes rested on Naruto's still form. "I visit him in the afternoons, since Iruka-san has classes, no one else really comes to check up on him."
This caught Sasuke's attention. Didn't many claimed to be the blonde's friend after all? Hadn't all of them been happy when lee had asked the question of visitation rights when they originally were told of Naruto's condition?
"I thought that others would visit," Sasuke whispered, walking towards his teammate's bed. He wished to face Lee while they spoke to each other. It was an old habit of his.
"Chouji is still in intensive care. He did after all take a pill that normally would have killed him. Neji, he's wounds are still pretty bad, but all he has to do is get some rest, but knowing Neji, he's probably tired of doing nothing. Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru, minor injuries, their off duty for the time being, as for Sakura-san, she and Ino spend more time together. " Lee explained, his eyes meeting those of Sasuke.
"Then why didn't they come?" Sasuke demanded an answer. Hell, he had a good reason for not coming, he was a prisoner in his own house! But for the others that weren't in critical condition like Neji and Chouji, it was making the Uchiha quite angry. But worse of all, for Sakura to not even come see her own teammate – that implied that Naruto meant absolutely nothing to her.
"The truth why no one really came, well the hospital staff here, won't let any of us see Naruto." Lee quickly gave the reason, noticing the anger that was building up in the other's eyes.
"What?" Sasuke nearly shouted. He was surprised that they would actually not permit anyone to see Naruto. He was told that for patients that were in comas, having their friends and families sometimes helps them wake up.
"Most likely," Lee confirmed Sasuke's suspicions.
"Then come you're here?" Sasuke was quite curious to how Lee managed to get in, unless it was the same way he did…
"I have yet completely recovered and so Tsunade-sama keeps me in this hospital. My room happens to be the one next to this one. So I have no trouble slipping in here." He smiled. The boy stood up and proceeded towards the door.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, looking at Lee's back.
"You don't have to leave on my account," Sasuke told him, walking towards the other genin.
"I've been here for an hour, and I still need to check up on Neji. Besides, I'm sure you two have things to talk about," Lee explained. He turned towards Sasuke and gave his thumbs up with his sparkling smile, Gai style.
"I doubt anything I say to him will make him wake up," Sasuke admitted in a rather low tone of voice, lowering his gaze to the cold floor. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Naruto slipped even deeper because Sasuke was talking to him. The blonde had to have hated Sasuke. He had every right to.
Lee looked at Sasuke, a grim look on his young face. He stared directly into the other's obsidian eyes as he spoke. "Uchiha-san, me and Iruka have been visiting him for over a week now, and there's no chance, not one movement nor word. We tried everything so far, the more time passes, the more we begin to fear that the curse is the reason for his coma and not the withdrawal from reality." Lee sighed, it was rare for him to be depressed, but Naruto brought out the good in each person he met. He actually missed the yells and the curses at some point that the blond would usually say. "Out of all the people Naruto knows, you've always been able to bring something out of him, that none of us ever managed to, perhaps, you can do it again." Lee spoke his last words before exiting the room quietly, leaving the Uchiha to reflect upon his recent words, which Sasuke did.
The room stayed silent as Sasuke made his way to the chair left by Naruto's bedside. Sitting down, he finally found the courage to look at his teammates face. He looked so pale, sad, almost … dead. Something inside of Sasuke rejected that this being was Naruto, but seeing that face, the more dominant and sensible part of him assured him that this was the boy he knew.
"Naruto …" He whispered the name, his eyes softening upon the sight. Strangely enough, his hand reached out to touch the blonde's face, slowly pushing aside those long blond locks from his closed eyes. "I guess… I really screwed up, huh dobe?"
Inside Naruto
Naruto laid face first on the blood colored water that tainted the entire floor before Kyubi's cage. His head, tilted towards the fox cage, his eyes filled with nothing more than emptiness. If anyone were to see him here, they would surely have thought that the boy was dead.
"Kit. Stop ignoring me and talk to me." Now there's a phrase you wouldn't hear form the most powerful demon everyday. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't care if the Kyubi was being "nice" to him.
"Don't wanna …" Naruto whispered, closing his eyes while trying to ignore the fox once more.
"Dammit, child!" Now the Kyuubi was pissed. It had been a week since Kyubi had tried to get something out of the boy. He had thought that with a little time, the blonde would get over the fact that now those of his age knew about the boy's burden. However, all that could be said of that wait was that it was all a waste of time.
"I … I don't want to face them … To see the hate in their eyes since now they know …" Naruto mumbled, slowly opening his eyes to notice how close the fox was to the bars in his cage.
"If they really hated you I doubt that ugly green kid would come visit you everyday as well as that scarred-nose teacher of yours. Even that bastard Uchiha is here." The fox growled, glaring at the young broken boy beneath him.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke..?" he whispered, trying not to break the dream that the possibility of Sasuke's being here brought to him.
"Yeah, he's here right now by your side." Kyubi told him, seeing how it seemed that this one stoic bastard could always captivate Naruto's complete attention.
"Sasuke…" Naruto whined. Without even thinking, Naruto managed to position his body into a sitting position, looking up at the fox. "He probably hates me even more…" His eyes went back down to the cold floor as he mumbled this line.
"Dammit! I did not go through all of that shit, saving your sorry ass so many times for you to coward yourself out into a coma. You're suppose to entertain me, not annoy me." Kyubi let out, really angry.
"But …" Naruto wanted to find some sort of excuse, but didn't have the time to as Kyubi continued.
"If they really despised you, would they bother to come and visit you, while the other stupid humans try to prevent them from doing so? That Iruka guy even threatened that bastard doctor to protect you," Kyubi snapped. Although Naruto was in a coma, he was well aware of what was happening outside the body and could always hear everything.
"Iruka-sensei actually did that?" Naruto was truly surprised. His previous sensei was never a violent man, but sometimes, when someone close to him was in danger, he could turn into a very scary individual.
The Kyubi smiled down at the boy. The blonde truly interested him. He had gotten under Kyubi's skin and now the fox liked to look out for him. "Listen, kit. You're not going to entertain me by staying here. Now get your head out of your ass and wake up! I need some peace and quiet. Frankly, you're better out there than in a dark place like this." Kyubi let the last part in a mumble, but knew that this should be enough to change Naruto's mind.
"But what if it's not that good?" Naruto was really worried about being treated as a demon by his own friends.
"You won't know until you try. BUT if you don't like what's out there, I'll allow you to come back here." Kyubi let out, just whishing that the boy would leave him alone already!
Minutes passed as Naruto really thought about Kyubi's words and now, he knew what he had to do. He slowly stood up, locking eyes with the fox himself.
"I'm going back," Naruto said in his determined-I'm-going-to-be-Hokage voice.
"About time, too." Kyubi teased the boy. "Now go away, I need some sleep."
Naruto finally smiled, razzing the fox. Maybe Kyubi wasn't as bad as everyone thought after all.
Konoha Hospital
- Naruto's Bedroom -
Fifteen minutes had passed as Sasuke updated Naruto on the latest news. How he was a prisoner in his own house, how foolish he was for going to Orochimaru. But so far, nothing even made the boy in that bed even flinch.
"You know dobe, out of all the people out there, you're the only one who managed to get past my cold barrier. Funny isn't it?" Sasuke chuckled. He felt like he was talking to a wall. "Well, I'll be checking on you as soon as I can." He stood up as he said this.
Sasuke turned his back to Naruto's sleeping form. Slowly walking towards the door, a strange sound caught his ears. He stopped, turning his attention back on the hospital bed.
The sound wasn't normal. One knew that the room was always silent, aside from the beeping sounds of the machine, which monitored the young boy's heart, as well as the second machine, which made sure he was never deprived of any oxygen.
This sound, was strange, yet extraordinarily familiar.
Sasuke promptly observed the bed, as though he expected the blonde to simply wake up, as though this coma had never happened. Unfortunately, the minutes passed, and the sound once again, disappeared.
Sasuke sighed. For a change, there was one thing he wanted more than avenging his clan, and that was for Naruto to wake up. Then again, it was his own fault and stupidity that caused this incident. Naruto was the only person that got close enough to him, since Itachi murdered his clan.
Sasuke closed his eyes, before heading back to the door. Thinking like this wasn't helping anyone, especially not Naruto. "Sorry, dobe. You may be an idiot and all, but at least you're not a traitor like me."
"He's leaving, are you really going to let him insult you and get away with it kit?" Kyubi told Naruto.
That strange sound came back for the second time. Sasuke had already reached out and wrapped his hand around the doorknob, when suddenly the sound came back, but there was a slight change. It was louder than before.
The young Uchiha was about to ignore it once more, until a new sound could clearly be heard within the silent room.
"Bastard …," a soft voice murmured on the other side of the room.
Sasuke's eyes widened. There was only one idiot, one person who always called him like that. He quickly turned around, wanting more than ever, to see that this was real, and not another illusion – another dream that his subconscious loved to torture him with.
"Naruto …" Sasuke whispered in a disbelieving tone. What he saw completely surprised him.
Naruto's form still lay across the bed, but the boy's head was turned in Sasuke's direction. Right then and there, half opened, bright blue eyes stared right back into dark ones.
After a long week, Naruto had finally woken up … because he had heard the voice of the one who had always been there for him.
On a tree branch outside the window, Kakashi smiled with pride for his students. They were growing up and Kakashi was proud to be able to grow up with them.
Inside the hospital room, two pairs of eyes stared at each other. It was like a photograph: still, unblinking yet full of tumulus emotion that swirled in the air around them.
TBC …
Well this chapter turned out kinda good in my personal opinion! But I know it's kinda short but it was still good! Again, very sorry for the lack of updates! I'm currently still very in demand at my job, one girl got fired, while the other is at the hospital, so that gives us other girls more hours to work.
Kyuubi-kun: How the hell can you say this chapter is short? It's twenty-five bloody pages! That's not short… it took me a week to beta…
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and please let me know if you enjoyed it as well or disliked it in any way. Comments are always good to receive, plus it lets me know that people still like it.
I got 28 reviews! I'm very happy with this, but know that this story should come to an end within 2 or 3 chapters at most. Once that done, I can either concentrate on my others stories, or begin to write the sequel.
Kyuubi-kun: YAY! Sequel! ((does a happy dance)) Sequel lurf! Lurf! Lurf! Lurf! La la la la la la la… okay… Kyuu-kun need to stop getting hyper…
Response to REVIEWS
Ryouseiteki : I'm glad to find yet another Sakura bashing person. And yes, the fact you new review and give me such great reviews makes me continue whenever I hate time, to update these stories. As for the ending of this story, it will be happy in my opinion. For the sequel, I do intend to make it into yaoi, but my decision isn't yet final, since they are many yaoi haters out there … Hope to hear from you soon and feel free to email me!
Max Knight : Just a reminder that I live in Quebec, which equals French language is what surrounds me. Although I am getting better at my English and I have no beta reader either. I think I'm doing much better than some other writers …
Arbil : I just plainly don't like her! Sakura doesn't deserve to be with either, Neji, Naruto and Sasuke. Heck not even Kakashi and most of all not Gaara and Itachi! Just to think of some fics where they are involved in those pairings makes me run away lol. The only way I can remotely accept that one of those pairings is if Sakura is in stored for a great deal of pain … So I'll let you in a little thought of mine. I'm currently also working on a story that hopefully people will love to read because in my mind, there will be more than 30 chapters for what I have in mind so far … So let's keep this between us ne?
Peter Kim : You can so read me like an open book! Indeed, the sequel will have Itachi make his appearance. I will also take into consideration about Konohomaru learning of Naruto's deep secret.
Rubymoon17 : Ah for the Sakura bashing, I'm working on a new story that will well portray my hate for her all too well, so for all those Sakura bashing fans out there, hopefully they'll like it once it's posted.
Spellcasterz and InuSaiyan: Have no fears! Sakura won't be paired with anyone unless I got something really bad in stored for her! And I've taken into consideration about the sequel having the pairing SasukeNaruto in it since people have been giving me their opinion about them.
To the rest of you dear and so cherished reviewers Thanks for giving me your opinions and I hope you also forgive me for the lack of updates! But working 7 stories is kinda hard when you need to work and go to school. But know this, I'll NEVER abandon a fic, unless I suddenly die. Either than that, I'll keep writing.
Next Chapter :
Dunno! I have no clue where this fi is going anymore lol.
Thanks for all those that reviewed!
Read and REVIEW!
Until next time!
Ookima
PS : Thanks again Kyuubi-kun for helping me out! Check out her stories, they're the best out there.