Chapter 24: Return
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Naruto is brought back to Fang. The Lord of Fang has plans for Naruto.
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Start date, January 6
Naruto shy away from the touch he received on his arm. He was slightly angry since the wrappings were still around his eyes. He let out a whimper when the person put their arm under his back and made his set up. He frowned as pillows were placed behind him. He was glad he was allowed to lay back. He turned his head, sniffing the air. He made himself jump when someone talked.
"Don't be afraid, I'm just changing your bandages."
He felt the covers moved off him and the person grab an ankle. He let out a yawn and allowed himself fall back to sleep. He woke up next to someone's hand brushing over his cheek. He opened an eye, finding the bandages were gone and he was still propped up. He frowned to himself, since he could only see out of his left eye. He looked to a nurse smiling down at him. He turned from the spoon she brought up to his mouth.
"This is good for you. You need to eat to get your strength back."
He looked to the spoon and to her. She moved to spoon closer to his mouth, but he brought his head away again. He looked to the door when he heard chuckling. He watched Moran walk in and he cowered down, looking from the man. Moran frowned and looked to the nurse.
"Get him something to eat that is not laced with his medicine and no soup."
The women turned around and walked out, letting her heals click harshly on the ground. Moran walked up to Naruto and placed a hand on the boy's head. Naruto moved farther from the man. The man smiled down at the boy and moved hair from the boy's face.
"I'm not mad at you and I'm not going to hurt you."
"I want to go home." Naruto said softly
Moran frowned. He stepped back and walked out of the room. Naruto snickered once the door was shut. He winced as he moved around, trying to get comfortable.
"Do you think its working?"
"We won't know till something happens."
Naruto looked to the door and watched the nurse walk back in. She moved the bed tray over his lap and set a tray of food down. Naruto frowned as he looked to the bowl of rice. He watched the women walk out. He shrugged and picked up the spoon with his left hand and began to eat.
-captured-
Two days passed and Naruto woke up by someone picking him up. He opened his eyes and found it was Moran. He gave a whimper as the man turned around. Naruto spotted the read head standing there.
"Moran-san, Lou is gone. It should be a minute before they summon you and the boy."
Moran nodded. Naruto looked to the man, confusion written on his face. Moran looked down at him, giving him a smile.
"Just relax. Fang-sama order a summon scroll made to bring you directly to his castle. He is not happy what has happen to you and what you have done. He is making sure you get back safely."
Naruto looked down from the man. He flinched; felling something sharp hit his thigh. He looked up as the removed an enclosed needle in a vial, away from his leg. Naruto felt his wariness start to drift. He closed his eyes as he felt a pull. Moran let out a sigh as smoke cleared around him. He looked to the lord of Fang. The man walked forward and placed a hand on the boy's face. He looked up to Moran.
"Let one of the medics take him, they will be starting the process to heal his burns. Tell me what all has happen since you captured him."
Moran nodded and handed Naruto off to a man, which quickly walked off. Moran sat down in a chair and began his tale. The lord listened, his face still. Once the tale was done, the man leaned back in his chair.
"What of the boy now. Would it be wise to send the boy home or even to Moon? I think the fight he had when we first brought him is gone. I believe he had a mask up, covering his fear, which has cracked." Moran said
The lord looked up.
"I will not discuss this with you now. Go home and rest. I will have you deal with Lou and his punishment."
Moran nodded and left. The lord looked down at his desk, not one article of work was found. He looked to his door, thoughts wondering of what to do with the boy. He smiled, thinking of persuading the boy to stay with them and leak secrets of Konoha to him. He knew he would not get much, but any thing, tiny as it is, could cause trouble. He nodded to himself, thinking of what a boy, an orphan boy would want. He pulled a sheet of paper from a drawer and pulled a pen out of its resting place on top of his desk. He dipped it in the ink and quickly wrote ideas down.
-captured-
Four days passed. Naruto kept his gaze from the person carrying him. He kept track of were they were going, but felt he was lost as they turned down another hall. He looked to the backs of the ninja they were following. He frowned as one ninja opened a door and he was carried in a room. He kept from snorting as he was carried to a bed. Once he was laid down, he rolled to his side, facing away from his keepers. The one that carried him pulled the covers over him and knelt down. It was the same healer that had an interest of Naruto's healing ability.
"You need to keep off your feet as much you can and don't move around too quickly. Your burns and wounds are still healing. If you have to get out bed, put the slippers on to keep your bandages on your feet clean. Don't take the IV line out, I don't want to strap your to your bed. Now, want do you want to eat."
Naruto did not answer the man, yet he was screaming ramen in his mind. The man stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see the lord. He bowed his head and moved back to let the man enter. The lord gave a small smile.
"How is the boy?" he asked
The man glanced to Naruto and looked to the lord.
"His injures are healing nicely. His fever is about gone and we have the infection under control. All his cuts are finally healing. The wound on his shoulder may take a longer time to heal; we had to do intensive cleaning. The break in the shoulder and leg has been healing very well, ribs are completely healed. The wound on his leg, he might not heal completely, he will have a limp for a long time. The burns, he has no pain from them, but we are giving him pain killers, just incase. The old burns should heal after a few more treatments. His new burns will take a bit longer. The healing sessions have helped him greatly."
The lord nodded.
"Of his healing ability he has?" the lord asked in a low voice
The man let out a sigh, and answered back with a low voice.
"From what I saw the first time, it is like it is nonexistent. It could be from his prolong sickness or his body is over burden with all his injures and has shutdown. I think after a few weeks of regular feedings and rest, it will start back up. He is very under weight."
"That is good to know. Has he spoken?"
The healer shook his head no and glanced down.
"He has shutdown. He won't speak to anyone. He will not eat when someone is in the room. When someone is in the room with him, his eyes will sometimes become blank. It could be since his recapture or what Lou has done to him. He comes around some when Moran-san is around, but won't speak."
The lord nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly. He looked back at the healer.
"Thank you for looking after the boy. I will speak with you later. Oh, how old is he by the way, he looks no more then nine?"
The healer shook his head.
"His age is about thirteen. I think he will be a late bloomer and make up his height in the next few years."
The lord nodded. His face contorted into a thinking face. He looked back to the man.
"The mark on his arm, he did not have it when he first arrived. What do you make of it?" he asked
The healer shrugged.
"I don't know."
The lord nodded. He walked forward and sat in a chair by the bed. The healer left, seeing four guards stationed at the door. He left to go back to his duties. The lord looked back at the door as it was shut. He turned his attention to Naruto. He reached over and pulled Naruto's hair back, tucking it behind his ear.
"It looks like you will need your hair cut; it will be a bit bothersome with it long. Now, why don't you tell me what you want to have to pass your time while you recover? Some books to read or something to put together sounds like a wonderful idea. I think I have some books in mind you would like to read. Now, what would you like to eat, my cook makes some of the best dumplings."
The man frowned, not getting any reaction from Naruto. He gritted his teeth, getting angry. He took a breath to calm himself. He wanted his plan to work and for the boy to trust him. He gave a squeeze to Naruto's arm and smiled down at him.
"I will bring you some dumplings for lunch. You get plenty of rest and I will talk to you later."
The man walked out of the room. He motioned for the door to be locked. He walked away with three of his guards following him. One stayed behind, seating on a chair by the door. The lord walked to his small study and sat down behind a desk. He ordered one of his guards to get food sent to the boy and told the others that he did not want to be bothered. His eyes narrowed in thought.
-captured-
Once the door was shut, Naruto let out a snort and sat up. He let out a yawn and looked in the room. It was small, with a small bathroom, with only a toilet, and small closet. A small table was next to the door and a small nightstand was next to his bed. He frowned as he pulled his hair behind his back. He winced when he found a knot as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"So, do you think its working?" he asked kyuubi
He felt a tingling sensation throughout his head for a moment. As it faded away and he felt a stronger sensation, but it was small.
"Yes, I believe so. How you acted the last week is good."
"Is it true what the man said about my healing ability, it has shutdown to all that has happen to me?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then how come you are not able to heal me?"
"I don't fell like it. Your body needs to get use to healing itself, and I would put your body in a strain, trying to heal all that has happen to you in one go."
"Okay, but you are still a stingy old kitsune."
He smirked, hearing laughter from the fox. He looked to the door, his smile dropping.
"What do we do now? I know you can get the seal off and I can try to summon for help, but they will know I can summon and make sure I will never use my chakra again. It will be best I use that as a trump card. As you said, I am in no shape to leave on my own. I could summon a fox for help, but with numbers on their sides, they could easily knock it out and get me."
"You are thinking that is good. We will have to wait to see what the future holds. It looks like the lord is planning something. I think he is trying to sway you to his side by bribery, make you spill secrets of your home. This could work both ways. You tell him false information and it will work to your village's favor or it could come back to hurt you."
"Lie in wait and see what happens. I think I can do that. What are we going to do once they find about the seal on my stomach. They must know by now. I know it shows when I use my chakra."
"You are right, some might know. I have pulled it deeper inside of you and it will not show up, unless I release my hold on it, which is link to your summon tattoo on your arm."
"That's good. They would think the seal might have been destroyed when that man burnt my stomach."
"You did well by focusing on something besides the pain. Where did you learn that?"
"I don't remember, but I think I heard it in one of Iruka-sensei lessons."
He quickly laid back down when he heard the door unlocked. He heard heavy footsteps and something set down on the table. He sat up once the door was shut and he knew no one was in the room. He pushed the covers back and got up on his feet. He winced as he walked towards the table, but stopped when he found the IV line would not go any farter. He snorted and grabbed the stand and pulled it with him. He sat down and pulled the tray cover off and looked at the dumplings. He frowned as goose bumps appeared on his skin. He snorted at the thin shirt and shots he was wearing. He let out a sigh and began to eat; glad he was not wearing one of the hospital gowns with the open back. He moved to the soup and pouted when kyuubi told him to eat the vegetables. He ate slowly, making disgusted faces. He went back to bed and covered himself up. He closed his eyes and let sleep take hold of him.
End date, January 12