A/N - Apologies for this chapter taking fucking forever! I kept getting sick/not feeling too well - still not covid related; I think it was just the changing weather that was making me feel bad and stressed, but I'm always stressed. That and half of this chapter was deleted at one point with no recovery so I had to rewrite this chapter! For those in the server as well as my best friends, Luc and Codex, you all know how frustrated it was for me to try and rewrite this… that's why it took so long because I was so overwhelmingly mad that I had to rewrite a chapter I'd nearly finished.

And the final reason behind my absence is because I just got hired at a new job - yay! - and I wanted to take my time to learn the job and how to do it properly. It is physically and mentally exhausting, the job I have, so I've been tired more often and I didn't have the energy nor time to write. So, yeah, sorry for disappearing and I hope you like this chapter! Don't worry, everyone, we're almost to the next arc!

Shikaku entered the hospital, a disposable coffee cup in his hand as he made his way towards the in-patient facility. He lifted his head, waving towards Ashido, the sweet receptionist who had helped to guide him to Naruto's hospital room when that fateful night happened four days ago. She waved back politely as he approached the desk, "Are you picking Naruto up?"

"I was told that he was allowed to leave now. Dr. Teruya sent one of the ANBU agents looking over Naruto my way to let me know." He mentioned, laying a hand on the counter, "Has he been alright while my wife and I were gone? And my son?"

"They're doing alright." Ashido smiled softly, turning around in her swivel chair towards a filing cabinet, pulling out the blond-haired genin's file. She handed it over to the Nara clan leader, "Naruto's practically been sleeping on and off for the past ten hours. If you look at his charts, though, he was able to manage to keep down some food around lunchtime. We didn't give him anything for dinner since he was going to be discharged soon."

Shikaku eyed the file carefully, trying not to let his mind read too far into the boy's severe injuries he'd sustained that night, "Yes, well, Yoshino and I will make sure he gets something to eat tonight."

She folded her hands carefully over the counter, humming to herself, "I'm sure Dr. Teruya can give you a better idea of his condition since waking up than I can, you know since I'm behind a desk." They shared a short laugh before the woman motioned him towards the stairs that would lead him to Naruto's room.

"You've been very kind, Ashido-san." Shikaku bowed his thanks, getting a flushed 'thank you' from the receptionist before heading towards the staircase. There was no need to ask for directions; after that first night, he had memorized the route in preparation for the days that lief ahead. Shikaku let his mind wander back to that night, his son's face plastered into his memory.

"Dad?! Do you think he's o-okay?!" Shikamaru's face dissolved into fearful tears, eyes wide with his hands shaking by his side, "He has to be okay!" He scratched painfully at his face as his breath quickened in his panic. The Nara heir's hair was slipping from the boy's ponytail, framing his face in his distress. It had been so long since Shikaku had seen his son's hair down.

The older man was quiet as he pulled his son close as they waited in the intensive care unit, ICU. There were couches and chairs all around them, a warm atmosphere created by the decorations and yellow lightning, intent on keeping people calm while they waited for their loved one to make it out okay. Shikaku has been here plenty of times, waiting on a friend to get out of surgery, but it felt different this time around.

He tried to get his son to take a seat, noticing the boy's shaking knees and hands, but Shikamaru's anxious pacing kept them standing as they waited on any word about Naruto. He smoothed down the boy's hair, pushing it behind his ear, "I'm sure the doctors are doing their best."

Shikamaru wheezed out a sob, choking on his tears so much so that Yoshino moved to cradle his face carefully. "Do you t-think he's g-g-going-" His words dissolved into tears, his mother pressing kisses to his forehead in his distress, "Is… Is he going to d-die?!" Yoshino pulled him close, shushing his tears as much as she could.

Shikaku watched painfully, pulling his wife and son into a long hug, feeling his eyes water as-

He shook away the vulnerable memory, not willing to go through that again. Shikaku lifted his head, realizing that he'd made it to Naruto's hospital room in no time at all. The clan leader knocked on the door quietly to announce his presence, hearing loud voices inside before slipping in. "Good afternoon." He greeted.

Choza raised a hand at him, "Hey, Shika." Shikamaru raised his head at the nickname Naruto used for him but, upon realizing it was for his father, his attention fell back onto the conversation the blond-haired genin and Choji were having.

Shikaku bowed his head in a short greeting, moving to stand beside his teammate's side, "Hello, Choza. Have you been well? Yoshino told me that she'd heard from your wife; she said that you had fallen ill?"

The other man hummed, patting his belly, "Ah, nothing but food poisoning. Turns out three-day-old streetfood sushi is not the best thing to eat for leftovers."

The Nara clan leader shook his head, an amused grin on his face, "I could've told you that." He eyed their sons as well as Naruto who moved lethargically, eyes lidded and face drooping with exhaustion. Despite Ashido assuring him that the boy had been resting since Shikaku left, it seemed that the chakra poisoning was still affecting his system. Hopefully, Kaiya would get here soon to discharge him.

Choji's sudden cry startled both the clan leaders, the Akimichi heir sniffling loudly, "I'm so sorry I wasn't t-there when you woke up! Mom made me clean my room so I c-couldn't see you!"

"Choji." His father commented, "Your room was filthy. You said you wanted Naruto to visit after he got out of the hospital. So, how do you think he would've felt if he had to limp through your room just to get to your bed?" His son flushed in embarrassment, wiping away his tears quickly.

Naruto scratched his cheek, trying to cough discreetly, "It would've been okay. As long as there would've been somewhere to sit." His words ended with a short chuckle that had Choji bounding back from his bout of embarrassment.

Shikaku huffed out a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest, "Sure, Naruto might sit on your bed, but how long of a tangent do you think he'll go on over the health risks of having a dirty room?"

"Hey!" It was Naruto's turn to turn red, the flush reaching down his neck.

"It's true though." Shikamaru shrugged, head pressed firmly against his best friend's shoulder, "You tend to ramble a lot."

"I do not!"

"You totally do." Choji chimed in with a laugh.

Shikaku watched for a moment or two before clearing his throat, garnering the other's attention, "Naruto."

"Hm?" He tilted his head in question before a yawn was pulled out of him.

"You should be getting discharged sometime within the next hour, so I wanted to go over a few things with you before you're let out of the hospital." The blond-haired boy nodded for him to go on, "Your apartment, for lack of better words, is trashed and is still involved in an active crime scene. I've been told by Hiruzen that you should only be permitted inside your home for some clothes to wear once you're let out of here."

"Oh…" His head fell slightly at the news. He hadn't thought about the state of his apartment he'd left it during Mizuki's onslaught, desperate to just survive. And upon waking up, Naruto didn't have the energy to continue thinking about that night.

"I mention this because…" The older man scratched his cheek, shifting on his feet awkwardly, "Yoshino and I talked about it and, if Shikamaru is okay with it, we'd like you to come live with us until your home is ready." He mentioned quietly, all eyes on him.

Choza shook his head, huffing out a laugh, "Damn you, Shika, you beat us to it."

Naruto looked between both of the clan leaders, eyes wet with emotion, "You both… I… You don't have to-"

"It's okay, kid." Shikaku held a hand up, silencing the genin for just a moment, "After everything that happened to you with Mizuki - his attempt at your life, you continuing to protect Konoha's secrets even though you were beyond injured - you need time to relax and recover."

The blond-haired teen was at a loss of words while on the verge of crying, "T-Thank you…" He tiredly wiped at his eyes, the emotional rollercoaster he's been stuck on finally exhausting him. "Is it alright if I go with you Shikaku-san?"

"Of course, that's why we offered. I'm sure Yoshino would have much more words for you regarding this, but she's getting dinner ready for when you get discharged." The clan leader huffed out a laugh, shaking his head, "Oh, and Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Drop the honorific, please. We've been over this countless times - you're practically family now." He stated.

He smiled softly before turning towards his best friend, albeit a little sheepishly, "Ah, sorry, Shika, I didn't ask you first… Can I-"

"Do you even have to ask?" Shikamaru huffed out, smacking the side of his head against his best friend's shoulder. He'd nearly fallen asleep had it not been for the redundant question. The black-haired teen hummed softly, eyes shut in content, "But to answer your question, of course. I mean, the Nara estate is practically your second home at this point."

Choji snickered at that, "Yeah, dude, you practically live there. I thought I was bad being over there almost every day after school, but it's nothing compared to you." The group laughed collectively much to Naruto's dismay, the boy's face reddening considerably.

"I… am not over there… much…" He grumbled out, eyes searching out the Nara clan leader, "Do I, Shikaku-san?"

The older man almost commented on the honorific but left it this time around. He shook his head, "I would say that, although it does exceed the amount of time we have Choji over, it will never be as bad as Choza and his wife."

"Hey!" His teammate called out, "We like to hang out. What? You don't want to hang out with me anymore?"

"You're one of my only friends, I simply couldn't not hang out with you." Shikaku snorted, "Plus, I'm sure you would merely pass away if I didn't want to hang out with you."

"Good, 'cause you're stuck with me." Choza laughed loudly.

Naruto chuckled quietly at the large group's antics, shifting farther down into his hospital bed. He tilted his head up slightly, closely investigating his best friend's face. "Shika?" He whispered out, getting a soft hum from the other boy, "Thank you."

One of the other boy's eyes peeked open, staring down at the blond, "You're welcome… troublemaker."

"Troublemaker?" He snorted, leaning more against the Nara heir, "That's a new one."

"Hm. It is." Shikamaru stated, shutting his eyes again, "Please, never do that again…"

Naruto's mouth formed a thin line, a frown marring his features, "I'll try not to."

"I'm serious."

"I know…"

There was a knock on the door, cutting through the noise as Kaiya made her way into the room. "Hello!" She greeted cheerfully, full of energy this evening. The blond-haired genin knew she'd probably had too much coffee to drink, likely to have been her third cup so far into the night, he mused to himself.

"Hi, Dr. Teruya." Naruto smiled weakly, growing sleepier as time went on.

"You ready to get out of here, kid?" She got a hum and a nod in response, "Well, there are some things we need to go over to make sure you're back in tip-top shape, alright?"

He yawned, hand covering his mouth for a second before trying to blink away his sleepiness, "Okay."

The dark-skinned woman flipped through a small packet, reading the contents on it before beginning to speak. "For the following week, you need to let your body rest as much as possible - if you feel like you could sleep the day away, do it. Rest is the only thing that will help your body in these final stages of any leftover chakra poisoning, okay?" The room was quiet while Kaiya spoke, not trying to deter Naruto's attention away with any unwanted conversation during the doctor's explanation, "No physical activities for this upcoming week either. I better not hear that you've been on your feet for more than six hours a day, okay? And, under no circumstances, should you use chakra for any reason."

"None at all?" Naruto questioned quietly.

"None. This is to protect your chakra coils while they are still under pressure from your chakra poisoning. It is imperative that these conditions are met or there will be severe consequences." Kaiya stated seriously, shifting the packet in his hands until it was sitting comfortably under her arm, "If you fail to do this, you will end up back in the hospital, which we don't want, right?"

"I still don't get chakra poisoning." Choji suddenly grumbled out, "I mean, doesn't Naruto have some of the biggest chakra reserves out of all of us? So, how can he even be affected by chakra poisoning?"

Kaiya rolled her shoulders, the blond-haired medic-in-training knowing the stance as her way of getting ready to explain something in depth. "So, chakra poisoning is basically when a person overuses chakra, completely draining all of their reserves and then some."

The Akimichi heir tilted his head, "And then some?"

"What I meant by that is that say you ran out of chakra, but you're still trying to pull chakra out to use. This puts a strain on your chakra coils, effectively straining them to the point where they can burst, leaking residual chakra into unwanted parts of your body. Chakra should only move through your chakra coils." Kaiya explained deeply, a dark look on her face, "Chakra poisoning comes from this, your chakra leaking into the parts of your body where chakra should not be."

"But Naruto's chakra coils didn't burst." Shikaku suddenly spoke out, genuinely curious by this new information. How Kaiya had managed to keep this to herself this long beats him. Maybe he'd just been too worried about his son and Naruto to think too hard on it.

"You're correct." The older woman nodded, motioning towards the blond-haired genin who'd been quiet through the entire interaction, "Naruto's case is special. His chakra coils didn't burst or suffer any kind of injury other than severe strain which I'm sure all of you have experienced when training or fighting. However, for an Uzumaki and a Jinchuriki, this is severe."

"What do you mean?" Choza questioned curiously.

She scratched the side of her face, trying to gather her thoughts, "Uzumaki's were known to have the largest chakra reserves out of any clan or any person; this is common knowledge, though." The group nodded quietly, intently listening to her. "It's suspected that Naruto's chakra poisoning is different is because, when he was trying to save Iruka's life, his and the Kyuubi's chakra were merged fluidly."

"What?" This was the first time Choza was hearing this.

"It's suspected that when their chakras merged, the use of their chakra significantly decreased since its equal parts of their chakras being used at the same time, decreasing the amount inside their reserves quickly." Kaiya explained the best way she could, "We only discovered this during Iruka-san's surgery."

Naruto tilted his head, "His surgery?"

She hummed, "This is all theory at the moment, but it's the only answer we have to his survival. Iruka miraculously survived because, when your's and the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra had merged and was then pushed into his body in a healing way, that chakra sat there and then merged into Iruka-san's chakra reserves. His chakra coils were bursting with medical ninjutsu as well as demonic chakra."

He sat up significantly, "How is that even possible…?"

"I'm curious as well. From previous Jinchuriki's reports, the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra is volatile and can cause area damage from simply being in use." Shikaku interjected.

Kaiya raised her hands, hoping to calm both the Nara clan leader as well as Naruto, "I said that it's just a theory… with some evidence to back it up. I'm not sure how it all works out, but I'm not a Jinchuriki so I couldn't tell you…"

"Maybe I should bring this up to the Kyuubi…" Naruto stared down at his bandaged hands.

"Don't even think about it."

He sighed deeply, "Fine."

"If I may also add, Kushina Uzumaki," At the mention of his mother, the blond-haired genin's head whipped up, "was the previous nine-tails Jinchuuriki. Before her death, she also suffered a great amount of chakra poisoning… it was found in her autopsy to discover the exact cause of death. I'm sorry if this is unpleasant information for you, Naruto…"

The twelve-year-old took a deep breath, feeling sick at the thought of someone cutting his mother up. "It's… fine." His words were strained, but he motioned for the woman to go on.

"Her chakra poisoning was also not caused by her chakra coils bursting and was likely due to the Kyuubi being unsealed from her body. We all know how detrimental of Jinchuriki's being separated from their tailed beasts…" Her words were somber and foreboding. Kaiya cleared her throat, "The running theory between us doctors is that Uzumakis can have chakra poisoning, but a different form of it. Kushina and Naruto have been the only Uzumakis we've observed this to happen with, so either it's because of their Uzumaki heritage or because both were Jinchuriki. I'm not sure, though…"

"It's definitely plausible." Shikaku huffed out, a concentrated look on his face, "I mean, there have been stories of Uzumakis fighting for weeks straight without needing to take a break due to their strong life forces and chakra reserves."

"I suppose." Kaiya mumbled out before shaking her head, "Ah, I went off on a tangent again. Sorry, Naruto, where was I?" She fixed her clipboard back in her hands, scanning over it once more.

The blond-haired teen thought it over for a few seconds before speaking, "You said I couldn't use any of my chakra, or train… or move much at all…" A question came to mind at that, "What about our genin teams?" Shikamaru lifted from the bed to stare at him.

Kaiya furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I was unconscious for four days, that means its… Wednesday?" He looked to the Nara heir for confirmation, the other boy nodding, "The genin teams were supposed to have been announced on Monday, so I'm sure teams have already started training and doing missions. So, I can't use my chakra at all? Or train with my team?"

"For one thing, even if you were already a part of a preexisting team, a doctor's word is absolute. This means that not matter what your sensei or the Third Hokage wants, so long as you have a doctor's note, you will not be participating in whatever they have in store for you. So, no chakra, no training, okay?" She crossed her arms, giving her volunteer a stern look, "Another thing is that the genin team announcements have been delayed significantly due to your's and Iruka's severe injuries. Hiruzen-kun said you both deserved to be there for that…" Her words were soft at the end, giving Naruto a sympathetic look.

"That and because the academy quite literally got destroyed." Choza added, an odd dark look on his face, "Most of the records and files were washed away in some water jutsu."

Naruto folded his hands over his lap carefully, mulling over his thoughts, "Kaiya?"

She startled to life, having never heard the boy call her anything other than 'Dr. Teruya', "What is it, kid?"

"Speaking of Iruka-sensei…" He looked away, feeling his eyes watering a bit, "W-When can I see… him?"

Kaiya walked over to his bedside, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder, "Let me get Shikaku to sign the rest of your discharge papers and I'll walk you to his room, okay? It should only take us about twenty minutes."

Naruto's lip wobbled, "O-Okay…"

She nodded, smiling softly, "Come on, let's go ahead and get that started."

"We'll be right back, kid," Shikaku stated, hands hovering in the air as if to calm the boy's nerves a little bit before following the older woman out of the room.

Naruto sniffled, turning his head to look at Shikamaru for the umpteenth time, "Have you seen him, yet?"

"No, not at all." The Nara heir answered honestly, shifting to sit up from the hospital bed to see his best friend better. He motioned to Choza and Choji before continuing to speak, "None of us have. He was in surgery for a long time."

"It was almost twenty hours," Choza stated seriously.

Shikamaru hummed quietly, resting a hand on the other boy's, "And after that, he was laid up in the ICU for the last two days…" He shifted so that one of his arms could pull his best friend into a chest-to-chest hug, letting his chin sit on Naruto's head. "No one's been allowed to see him yet except for the Hokage." He said, squeezing the teen's hand, "I'm sure he's fine though, Dr. Teruya was in the surgery room helping the doctors."

The blond-haired genin stared at his bandaged hands between their bodies, "Did she really…?" He got a nod in response. Naruto leaned against the other boy completely, letting his head fall between the crook of the Nara heir's neck, "I'm thankful for that…"

Shikamaru pressed his best friend closer, hugging him tightly, "Me too."

Time seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye, the small group in Naruto's hospital room having moved onto a light-hearted conversation afterward, merely waiting for Shikaku's and Kaiya's return. It didn't take long though, an hour at most, but no one was paying attention to the time so it's no telling how long it actually took. The Nara clan leader opened the door for Kaiya, the older woman nodding her thanks as they both made their way back into the room. While Shikamaru and Choji were talking each other's ears off with Choza sitting comfortably in the corner reading, Naruto had fallen back asleep, unable to keep awake much longer than needed.

Upon seeing both the clan leader and the doctor, Shikamaru moved to wake up his best friend. "Hey, troublemaker, they're back." He whispered out, shaking the blond-haired genin awake. Although drowsy and not nearly awake enough, Naruto sat up with a loud yawn. The Nara heir stared into his sleepy eyes, taking in the way the bags under his eyes seemed darker, cheeks thinner. "When we get home, Mom's going to try and feed him everything in sight." He found himself thinking.

Kaiya moved to his bedside, giving the blond-haired teen the okay to get out of bed. Naruto climbed off the hospital bed, knees still shaky and body already protesting with exhaustion. Noticing the change immediately, the older woman moved to grab a wooden crutch, passing it over to her volunteer, "Maybe you should use this to lean on for a little while until you get your strength back."

Naruto stared at it, feeling a little offended at being offered such a thing, but knowing that he wasn't going to make it down the hall without something to lean on. "...fine." He grumbled out, pressing the single crutch under his arm before moving towards the door albeit with a little bit of a limp.

"And where are you going without some kind of shoes." Kaiya chastised, shaking her head with a soft smile. She reached for some hospital slippers, dropping them in front of the blond, making sure he could manage to shimmy his feet into them. Once that was done, Kaiya opened the door for him, allowing him outside of the stuffy hospital room for once.

Choza took a step forward, a hand pressed on his son's shoulder, "Ah, excuse us." The rest of the group turned towards the two, everyone having finally made their way out of the hospital room following Naruto. "I think it would be best for us to part ways here." He explained loosely, giving his teammate a look, "I'm sure that you don't want an audience, Naruto." The teen lightly scratched his cheek, eyes staring down at the floor awkwardly. "I thought so." Choza nodded, more to himself than at the boy's nonverbal answer, "We'll see each other again, I'm sure. Choji will most likely be inviting you to the house the minute you're well enough to make the trip over there."

Choji, upon his name being uttered, started nodding profusely, "Yeah! Mom said she'll make you whatever flavored barbeque you want! And I'll make sure my room stays clean until you can come over, okay?!"

Naruto smiled softly, pressing his body against the wall discreetly, "Sure! I'd like that."

"We hope your recovery is quick and easy." Choza finished, waving one last time before the two Akimichi's turned away and left the hospital.

"Come on, Iruka-san isn't going to be awake for long." Kaiya ushered, motioning for their now smaller group to follow her.

Shikamaru stood beside his best friend, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with him due to their close proximity. He could see the other boy struggling with the singular crutch, whether it be from exhaustion due to his chakra poisoning or from the numbness in his feet, the Nara heir couldn't tell. "Do you want to use my arm as leverage?" He asked quietly.

Naruto lifted his head, sweat dripping down his face from exertion - moving this much after being bedridden for several days was taking its toll on his body. Although a little embarrassed, he nodded, wrapping his arm around his friend's and moving to secure his hand around Shikamaru's wrist. "Thanks…"

"Anytime."

Despite Shikamaru's best efforts not to put any more attention on Naruto's condition, Kaiya turned to look at the two boys lagging behind her. There was a worried crease in her eyebrows, "Kid, do you want a wheelchair?"

"No." He was quick to say, leaning heavier onto his best friend.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Shikaku tried, noticing the twelve-year-old genin as well.

"I don't want one…" Naruto whispered out, eyes on the floor, his hand shaking where it held onto Shikamaru. "I was too weak to stop Mizuki from hurting me… for hurting those I care about. I have to be strong…" He found himself thinking painfully, feeling eyes on him but not having the energy to care. Shikamaru glared dangerously at his father and the doctor until both had turned their attentions away.

The rest of the walk was painfully quiet, just the sound of hospital machines and small talk between nurses and doctors. Some waved and called out Kaiya's name in recognition as they passed, the older woman either nodding at them or greeting them quietly. Every now and then, she snuck glances over her shoulder at Naruto, intent on making sure he could make the trip to Iruka's hospital room. Shikaku, for his part, kept out of it as much as he could after his son's deadly glare.

Shikamaru was doing his best to keep Naruto up and walking while Kaiya directed them to the intensive care unit, maneuvering carefully around patients and doctors alike. It wasn't for another couple of minutes that they finally made it to Iruka's hospital room, both Shikamaru and Naruto staring at it carefully, the latter of the two taking deep breaths in. Those in the nurses' station stared over the counter at the blond-haired genin, murmuring to themselves in concern. He didn't notice them, though, just the slight wave of the curtain leading into his teacher's hospital room kept swaying.

Naruto's mind filled with recognition, remembering Chikako, the pharmaceutical scientist he'd been interning under, explaining that the hospital didn't use doors for ICU patients because it's easier to move a patient's gurney around the building or in case of an emergency surgery situation arose. Curtains, although preventing much-needed privacy, were better for the healthcare teams in the long run.

Kaiya laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. There was a worried, but soft look in her eyes, "We're going to wait by the nurses' station, okay? You take all the time you need with him."

The blond-haired genin nodded, jaw clenched painfully. He felt Shikamaru shift away from him immediately after, Naruto nearly being urged to pull him back in, but managing to refrain from doing so. He, instead, turned towards his best friend with a questioning gaze. "If you need me," The Nara heir began, words almost too quiet to hear, "you can just call out and… I'll be there for you, okay?"

"T-Thanks…" It was all he could utter, mouth dry and heart trying to hammer out of his chest. He gave the small group a short nod before limping into his teacher's hospital room.

The light inside the room was a soft glow, having been dimmed as it was nearing almost eight at night. The air was cold, bitter almost and it held far more machines inside the room than his own had. Naruto gave the room a once over, trying not to lay his eyes on Iruka just in case his condition was much worse than what he was expecting. "They said he'd been out of surgery for a few days…" The blond-haired genin tried to reassure himself, eyes shifting slowly over to the lone hospital bed where the older man lay.

"He looks dead." His mind conjured. Naruto immediately smacked his forehead, desperate to not think that way towards his father figure. Tears welled in his eyes, feeling too many emotions while looking at his injured teacher. The genin took deep, calming breaths - though, that doesn't mean he necessarily calmed down - before shimmying over to the only seat in the room. Naruto dragged it across the floor until he could sit beside Iruka. He set his crutch against the wall before folding his hands neatly in his lap.

Naruto stared quietly, taking in the man's features. Iruka's always neat ponytail had been taken out at some point within the past few days, the chunin's hair laying sporadically across his shoulders. He reached out, combing the man's hair behind his ears, remembering Iruka mentioning how he hated when his flyaways would touch his forehead. Apparently, it tickled, Naruto recalled somberly.

The medic-in-training looked at Iruka's closed eyes, seeing deep, dark bags underneath them. They were swollen and bruised from the fight between him and Mizuki, purple and blue with some spots slowly turning a soft yellow; he was healing slowly. The blond-haired teen sniffled quietly, trying not to cry, but failing miserably. The tears flooded over his cheeks, silently crying as images started flashing in his head from that night.

"Aw! How pitiful!" Mizuki's laugh had filled that clearing so well that night, his mocking voice like sirens in Naruto's ears. He still remembers the shrill mocking tone in his laugh. "Iruka! Weren't you the one who said that I would die here?! That you would kill me? Yet, here you are, Iruka, dying!" The traitor had screamed out.

And he was, dying that is. Naruto could feel the way the man's blood was seeping out of the large wound on his chest where his hands pressed tightly against the puncture, desperate to keep his father figure alive. He could hear Iruka's wheezing breaths, watching the man's dark brown eyes fluttering shut with a pained expression on his face. The blond-haired genin couldn't even think beyond Mizuki's laughter swarming in his head.

Iruka was dying and Mizuki was laughing…

"I don't want to lose anyone else. I can't lose Iruka."

Naruto couldn't stop himself from sobbing loudly, coughing when he'd accidentally inhaled his tears. "N-Naruto…" The memories kept flooding in, "I… You w-were the great… g-greatest student I… e-ever had… You a-are everything…to me a-and I… Y-You're the son… s-son I never had…"

And then he went limp.

The blond-haired boy covered his face, bandaged hands scraping desperately against his eyes, trying to stop his tears. "Oh, Naruto…" A voice called out to him, startling the teen stiff.

Naruto pulled his hands off his face, eyes watery and wide as he stared into deep dark brown eyes, "I-Iruka…?"

Iruka smiled weakly, having woken up because of the boy's crying. He reached a shaking hand out, softly caressing the side of the blond-haired genin's face, "You're okay…"

"M-Me? But y-you…" His bottom lip wobbled, coughing harshly against the onslaught of his tears, "You d-d-died. I-"

"C'mere." The academy teacher murmured out. With one hand, he pulled the twelve-year-old boy close until Naruto was practically in his bed with him, hugging the blond close to his chest. Iruka rested his chin on top of the boy's head, "I'm okay… Can you hear my heart? It's still beating, right?" His words, although that of a whisper, were loud in the blond's head. And he could hear it, the man's heart was pounding away.

Naruto pressed his head closer, desperate to hear that, to cover the memory of his teacher going limp in his arms with the sound of life. "I-Iruka…" He sobbed out quietly.

"I'm alive, my dear Naruto, because of you." Iruka pressed a soft kiss against the boy's sweaty hair, "I have so many thanks to give you, but I wouldn't even know where to start." There were tears in his eyes by now, brushing the teen's long bangs away.

"I'm s-sorry…" The medic-in-training hiccuped, "I'm sorry…"

"I don't know what you're apologizing for, but it's okay… We're both going to be okay, my dear." The academy teacher pressed another kiss to his son's forehead, "I'm sorry you had to see me in that state…"

"I c-couldn't just let… l-let you die." He lifted his head, staring at his teacher with wet eyes.

Iruka smiled softly although a bit grim, "I know… I still… I just c-can't forgive myself for making you save me like that." His face grew dark with remembrance and regret. "We should've just ran away together that night… I could've protected you as we ran… but he caught me off-guard." Tears ran down his cheeks slowly, "I made mistakes that night and you paid the price, and I'm so, so sorry…" He whispered out, hugging his student tightly.

"Don't make me d-do that again…" Naruto cried out quietly, hiding his face away in Iruka's chest again, "I… I can't l-lose you…"

"My son," Iruka lifted the boy's face, pressing their foreheads together, "I promise this will be the last time you ever see me hurt. Never again…"

"Never again…?"

Many thanks to my discord server who've given me lots of support during this last month of my writing inactivity - lucifyr, TheSevenCodex, Ittoki, Zorania, grizzlyflwr, SoftSquish, Shadows Brightside, BreadTurtle, lexisking, coffee_dog50, Severus/Remus, Lafolia Aldegyr, BobRoss14, Niko, AliensAreCool, Karatachi Yagura, Kris, Janae Writes, An|)re_, Batatons, madahashiizutobi, HQ, AlphonseEric, kurama, sewobaby767, Ana, Blazeninja_HD, Pen, favour_kat, Sanj, big dum, Moneyboy21, jura_mirahe0791, ashmellow, Kuzon, d, circe !, frozen_cradle, roxNSticks170, iluvnarutoxboruto, Ninni, Kenji-Dono 420, ItsMari, Noirhiro, Omi, Supriya-Supremacy, Pelaaja JM, Ryze, Sadie101, xsthx_r, and Zel.