Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 9
Just Another Poisoned Heart
Hello there my fellow fanfictioners! I'm just going to jump straight to the good stuff so enjoy the next chapter you crazy kids! 😉
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. Both of these epic stories belong to the great Masashi Kishimoto, long may he reign.
Shit!
Throwing himself off of Kamui, Sasuke fell to the ground before rolling sideways and to his feet in one smooth motion in order to retain at least some momentum. He didn't have much time.
It was bad out there. The sand, wind and rocks obscured everything in sight to the point where the most the Uchiha could see was perhaps an arm's length into the distance. Despite this he wasted no time and sprinted to the cliffside, not hesitating for a second before stepping over the edge after the girl.
Cursing as a gash appeared on his cheek, courtesy of a stray rock thrown by the wind as fast as a kunai, Sasuke activated his sharingan even as his feet found the rock-wall and he began running down the side. In these conditions, it was almost impossible to find the perfect chakra balance so as to adhere to the surface of the wall so instead he used gravity and the momentum of his footfalls to pick up speed.
He needed to catch up with Himawari before she turned into little more than a red splatter on the canyon floor. To an outsider's point of view his sharingan shone like a crimson beacon in the sandstorm.
Lifting his shirt up over his mouth so that he wouldn't have to breathe sand and dirt Sasuke attempted to pierce the storm with his kekkei genkei. Only a second or two had passed since he had left Kamui but it was already far longer than he would have liked.
There!
Zeroing in on Himawari's falling body, he added a burst of chakra to his next step and pushed off into the open air. Thanks to the chakra he shot forward like a lightning bolt after the Hyuuga hand already extended and ready to catch her. At the rate, they were falling it was going to be close.
Maybe five seconds till we hit the bottom…
His fingers were almost touching hers.
Four seconds.
They were just barely grazing hers.
Three seconds.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed in concentration as he stretched with all his might and almost reached the girls waist. If he caught her by the arm then the whiplash when he stopped their fall would rip her arm out of its socket.
Two seconds!
His arm wrapped itself around her stomach. It would have to do and the Wanderer wasted no time. Pulling the girl close to him with one arm he extended the other to where he knew the ground to be and screamed with a hint of desperation.
"Almighty Push!" His Rinnegan glowed a brilliant violet as it activated and gravity seemed to slow significantly buying the Uchiha perhaps another few seconds before they both became smears on the ground.
No time to use Susanoo!
The girl wasn't reacting to anything and would be of no help so Sasuke did the only thing he could think of to save both of them. He withdrew a kunai from his thigh-holster and channeled his chakra into it before reaching out and slamming it into the side of the canyon.
An action that he immediately regretted doing. While the blade quickly chipped and dulled against such resistance it served its intended purpose and halted their descent sharply. However, with Himawari's added weight and Sasuke's body facing towards the earth it meant that such a sharp counterforce was too much for his body to handle. His body flipped the right way up but his arm…
Sasuke roared as white hot fire swept over him, his arm pulled out of its socket with a horrid cracking sound. The pain was unbelievable and the effort of hanging on by a dislocated limb while holding onto the girl was even now beginning to take its toll on him as sweat dripped from his brow onto his lips, teeth bared with the effort of keeping them aloft.
At least she isn't conscious for this.
Unsurprisingly the thought did little to comfort Sasuke as he closed his eyes and began focusing his chakra and preparing his sharingan. Unfortunately the kunai decided that it couldn't maintain its integrity and the blade snapped causing the duo to fall once more.
Cursing loudly, Sasuke made sure that he hugged the girl close to his chest and adjusted his fall so that he would take the brunt of the impact. Sasuke kept his eyes closed whilst continuing to gather and shape his chakra even over the roar and bite of the wind and the sand upon it.
The ground was close. Far too close for Sasuke's liking and he could almost feel the Reaper's breath at his back.
Suddenly the two became enveloped in a set of spectral ribs and wreathed in purple chakra. Just in time too, the ribs cracking as they hit the canyon floor with a crashing sound that would make a veteran wince. Luckily Susanoo managed to save their lives but Sasuke wasn't able to strengthen it enough in time in order to completely dissipate the force of the impact.
Because of this the moment they impacted the Uchiha fell into darkness, the world fading to black momentarily as white-hot pain shot throughout his body.
Definitely not my best fall.
Letting out a pained sigh he laid there for a few long moments, trying to focus his way through the haze of pain pulsing from his now battered body. The time passed quicker than Sasuke would have liked but the weather was getting worse and the sand was so thick that he felt that he was choking on the air.
A small seed of worry sprouted in his mind when Himawari remained silent. It was possible that she was in shock from the fall and their landing, her screams silenced by the howling wind or even, perhaps, that she had fainted from the trauma.
Sasuke let out a sharp hiss as his arm reminded him of its condition. Slowly he rolled over so that the pair's positions were now reversed and he was on top of the Hyuuga. Undoing his poncho, he tucked the tips of one half into the back of his pants before throwing the rest over their heads and holding onto the material tightly.
It was a horrendously inelegant solution but it would serve to provide some form of shelter from the sand and wind. It would also give him the opportunity to look Himawari over properly.
The Hyuuga was unconscious but her condition wasn't good either. Although there were no injuries that he could immediately discern save for a few mild scratches, no doubt from flying rocks on her way down, a fine sheen of sweat covered her skin.
Keeping his hand on his poncho so that it would not be swept away, Sasuke lowered his head to hers, touching Himawari's forehead with his own, trying to get a feel for her temperature.
She was burning up, he could feel it despite the heat of the air around them. Her throat was swollen slightly as were the lids of her eyes and there were spots of inflammation all over her skin.
Poison…
This wasn't good. Poisoned weapons were actually a rarity in shinobi for mainstream combat weapons. The danger lay in the handling of one's own weapon as it would be so easy to brush the blade and accidentally end up with a case of self-poisoning.
Where is it? Sasuke thought to himself, his Sharingan activating in preparation. His eye scanned quickly over her form, looking for any sign of injury.
Any cut or scratch.
There!
On her side by her hip was a small hole in the cloth. Lifting her shirt up slightly so that he could better examine the area his eyes widened in surprise. It was little more than a scratch really, probably received from one of the stray kunai he deflected back at the shrine.
What surprised him was the poison itself. Long, black tendrils under her skin that seemed to be spreading further and further with every second, albeit at a very slow pace.
Had to have been a contact poison. Only way it could've gotten into her bloodstream from such a minor cut. The thought did nothing to relieve him as the last Uchiha uncharacteristically bit his lip in thought.
His Sharingan saw many things, including the makeup of the poison. It was one of Orochimaru's old favorites.
It was known as the Black Spider. Apparently, a derivative of one of the Sound Four's transformative abilities. It also just so happened to be curable if treated in time.
If the poison reached her heart she was finished. Tracking the path of the tendrils he noticed that they already stretched far across her chest, far closer to her heart than he would have preferred.
At this rate, she has maybe an hour left, possibly less.
All things considered Sasuke knew that this was a lucky break. When he... left Orochimaru's service he took with him a number of cures and remedies, just in case any Sound-nin decided to come after him in revenge for their master.
One of the cures he liberated from Kabuto's laboratory prior to his departure just so happened to be the cure to the Black Spider. While the cure itself was also considered to be toxic it provided an interesting benefit. Made from the normally deadly and exceptionally rare Shrine of Hana flower it served as a cure to the Black Spider.
It could only be ingested when poisoned by the Spider but not only cured the poor victim but made them immune to the poison entirely for the rest of their life.
But therein lay two problems.
The cure was in a satchel of medicines he carried with him… in his saddlebags. Kamui was an intelligent beast and the horse was certainly wise enough to stay put inside of the cave until the storm died down.
The cure was with the horse and the horse was in the cave. The cave that was currently more than a few hundred feet above from them with a rough rock wall and a strong sandstorm swirling around them like a spectre of death, waiting to take their lives and claim their souls.
The other problem was troubling on a tactical level.
I only have one dose… and I've never been poisoned by the Black Spider before.
Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration as the poison tendrils seemed to pulse before growing thicker and no doubt, spreading their taint further into the little girl's flesh.
I guess there's no choice then is there?
Removing the poncho entirely Sasuke braced against the sand, the heat and the roaring wind and proceeded to wrap the garment around Himawari, making sure to cover her face so that she would not drown in sand and flying shards of stone.
Reaching for the small of his back he withdrew his water canteen. His head tilted downwards to avoid some of the punishment being dished out by the weather, Sasuke then moved to carefully unscrew the lid with his teeth and poured some of the vital liquid into Himawari's slightly open mouth which he uncovered awkwardly with his pinkie finger.
Definitely didn't think this through.
The girl needed the water from the looks of it or she wouldn't even make it to the cave.
I'm really not going to like this next part. Sasuke thought to himself even as he placed the canteen back and pushed himself to his knees.
No point in putting it off.
With a deep breath and a grimace of determination the Sharingan-wielder grabbed his dislocated arm and with a swift and sickening 'crack', forced the limb back into place.
It was not a pleasant affair and his roar of agony for one brief moment drowned out even the storm.
In Konoha
Hinata awoke with a start, her body drenched in cold sweat and her eyes wide with terror and grief. Only a single word seemed to escape her lips.
Not a spoken word but one that her lips moved to form nonetheless. Perhaps it would have been more fitting to call it a silent prayer more than anything else.
"Himawari…"
The room was dark without a single source of continuous light to comfort her. There was a storm outside though, Hinata could hear the thunder boom every few seconds or so and she knew without a doubt that her son was sitting on the edge of his bed despite the late hour, watching and listening to the weather as it played out like a theater performance just outside his window.
Boruto enjoyed the weather just like Naruto. Not at all like herself though… not at all like her daughter either. Whenever the weather took a turn for the worse and the lightning began to streak across the sky Himawari would run to her parents' room and crawl up between them under the sheets.
Naruto would laugh, azure eyes ablaze with merriment even as mother and daughter hugged each other tightly and quivered in childish fear.
Now there was only silence when it stormed, save for the reminder it brought with it. The reminder of her failure as a ninja and as a mother.
When the storms came, she could feel that old tingling sensation. From her belly button to her shoulder, a dull pain emanating from the scar that now marred her body. Faint though it was it would never truly fade.
Somedays she could still feel the enemy blade carving its way through her. She could still feel Himawari's blood running between her fingers as she tried to keep her daughter in this world. She felt the anguish and the rage flowing through her veins and throughout her soul as her child was snatched from her arms never to be seen again.
We should never have gone on that journey.
She felt her husband's presence several moments before lightning streaked across the sky once more, illuminating the room briefly and her husband as well.
"Naruto?" She asked softly, her voice gentle and kind as she took in his slumped shoulders and hung head.
Not today then.
Raising his head to look at her, Hinata's heart almost broke. No longer did his eyes shine with merriment as they used to. Instead they were filled with tears and regret of things in the past. Getting out of their bed she moved swiftly towards him and embraced her beloved tightly, her head against his chest.
"It's okay." She told him softly, her hand reaching up to stroke his sun-kissed hair in a soothing motion. The Hokage buried himself in her shoulder before his arms raised up to return her embrace.
"I still can't find her." Naruto whispered, his voice containing a level of fear that had never been heard before by anyone other than her.
"You will though." Hinata reassured him, her voice filled with the same hidden strength that made him fall in love with her to begin with.
"I wasn't strong enough, I should've…", his doubts were cut short as Hinata gave his hair a soft but firm tug in reprimand.
Taking his hands in hers Hinata led him to their bed and sat them both down. Lightning flashed and Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata's glared at him with tears in her eyes.
"You did nothing wrong! It wasn't your fault Naruto-kun!" She told him fiercely, furious that he would even contemplate such a notion.
The two sat in silence for a time the both of them lost in their own thoughts and feelings. Releasing a shuddering breath Naruto eventually lay down on the bed and Hinata followed suit hugging him tightly.
"Do you think she's still alive?" He asked the question so softly the Hyuuga almost didn't hear it over the thunder.
Smiling sadly, Hinata reached up and affectionately stroked one of his 'whisker' marks. She wished with all her heart that she could bleed her own conviction into him as well.
"Our daughter is strong Naruto-kun. I may not know where she is but I can feel her in my heart… Himawari lives."
"Tomorrow then. I'll find her tomorrow I promise."
Every day since that fateful day the Hokage had made his wife this promise. Every day he broke his promise to her and that night renewed it. And every night Hinata forgave him not just with her words but with her heart. She did this because she knew that someday Naruto would succeed and bring Himawari home to them.
Because just like her, Naruto never went back on his word.
In Whittlebone Pass
Sasuke Uchiha was not a happy man at that moment.
To be fair no one in their right mind who knew the first thing about the Uchiha would ever think to say that he was anything but an unhappy individual.
But today was an abnormal day and it would be safe to say that today of all days was an especially shitty day for the Wandering Ninja.
Of all the things that happened to him so far in the past twenty-four hours, from unwanted baggage to death duels and the dislocating of his shoulder and the monstrous sandstorm, this latest problem just served to be the cherry on top of the cake that was his shitty day.
He couldn't walk up the canyon sides. The storm either blew him straight off and when it didn't it served to mess with his chakra rhythm meaning that he couldn't adhere to the side of the rock either. The swirling sand beneath his feet and against the rock kept disrupting the chakra balance he tried to establish under the soles of his feet.
Looking down at Himawari in his arms only served to increase Sasuke's ire with his luck. She was getting much worse far too quickly.
I need to get up there now!
Abandoning his efforts to scale the wall in his usual fashion the Uchiha decided it was time to employ more primitive methods. He spent a few moments moulding his chakra appropriately before releasing it and sure enough the mighty form of Susanoo took shape around them.
Gripping Himawari tightly to his chest the Uchiha's feet left the ground as Susanoo ascended. The cave was some distance above them but unfortunately using Susanoo's wings would have been a fatal error. With the storm around them the mighty chakra construct would have been thrown around like a ragdoll if it attempted to flap its wings.
So instead Susanoo reached forward and began to climb. It used the numerous pathways along the canyon as ledges and, where none were to be found, smashed its fingertips into the hard stone to make handholds.
Their ascension was slow but they were making progress and in no more than half an hour Sasuke landed safely on their original path, banishing the purple chakra as his feet touched solid ground once more.
Wasting no time the Uchiha made his way into the cave. Kamui seemed rather unsurprised at his rushed reappearance and let out a soft snort of greeting before finally closing her eyes and falling asleep, comforted now that her master had returned.
Sasuke gently placed Himawari down against the cave wall before making his way over to his horse. Giving Kamui a quick brush along her mane the man began searching his saddlebags for the satchel containing the medicine.
A noise from behind him drew his attention and the Uchiha cursed violently. The girl was convulsing wildly and foam was beginning to appear at her mouth. The poison was about to enter her heart and if that happened…
Then I'll be waiting out this storm trapped in a cave with a horse and a child's corpse for company. Where is it?!
Finally, it seemed a ray of luck shone briefly on him as Sasuke found the satchel's strings and roughly pulled the item out of its hiding place. Even as he ran over to Himawari's writhing form, the shinobi reached inside and pulled the antidote from its holder before dropping the satchel.
It was getting bad.
She may have only a minute or two left at best.
Dropping to his knees, Sasuke slid the remaining distance to catch the Hyuuga as her convulsions caused her to fall to the side. Tearing out the cork stopper with his teeth, Sasuke forced her mouth open with his free hand, wiping away the froth in the process and proceeded to pour the contents of the potion down her throat.
The violent jerking of her body continued for a few moments before slowly subsiding, Himawari's head falling limply to the side.
Sasuke held his breath without realising it even as he rested two fingers against her throat.
There!
It was weak but there was a pulse. Reaching down he lifted her shirt to check the state of the Black Spider tendrils. Slowly, he took off his forehead wrappings and wound them around the girl's waist to provide a temporary binding for her wound.
Finally, the Uchiha released his breath and sat back against the stone, closing his eyes from exhaustion. The tendrils were still there but were already beginning to recede when he looked at them.
That was far too close. He thought to himself wryly.
With that Sasuke Uchiha, Master of the Black Flame, let out a soft chuckle before slipping away into exhausted sleep and with Himawari in a similar state, her head resting in his lap.
Well there you have it guys! The next chapter in Those Who Are Lost.
To Darth Lelouch I say this: This story will be a family/drama/action/adventure story. I was heavily inspired to write this after seeing Logan and Sword of the Stranger and hope to give it a similar theme to those two masterpieces. (And thank you for your lovely review)
That being said though if this story does well enough I am planning on writing a sequel in which there will be romance between Sasuke and another character from the Narutoverse.
If anyone wants to take a guess as to who I would pick for this role then feel free to send me a review or a PM. If you're right maybe I'll give you a call out in the next chapter ;)
I will unavailable to write in the next chapter for the next two weeks though as I have several exams in that timeframe. Please forgive me!
Please send me a review if you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are motivation which means I write chapters with more gusto and post them sooner ;)
P.S. I wonder how mean I'm being dropping all these story hints as to what happened to Himawari and Sasuke individually so that they were where they were when they met?
Oh wait... I am evil. :)
See you next time.
No idea what to call the next chapter yet.