Note: Italics denote mental thinking.
Kotetsu stayed in the tent with Naruto while he slept. Izumo imagined he'd be awake by morning, but a whole day had gone by and he was still sleeping. He pushed himself too hard.
Izumo came to the entrance and opened the flap.
"Yo, Izumo. Find out anything?"
"Only that he hired some renegade ninjas to go plundering through small broken down villages like this one."
Kotetsu nodded. "I don't understand why the village elders didn't tell us they were being attacked regularly."
"Kotetsu." Izumo continued in a solemn voice, "This is a poor village that can't afford any protection from other villages. It was just luck that we came here on orders. I'll be back later to switch out with you. I'm going to check on the people I left at the garden. They seem to be learning well." Izumo smiled and closed the flap.
Naruto fluttered his eyes open. He looked around and saw Kotetsu sitting next to him carving something with his kunai. Suddenly a flash of the fight scene passed through his mind. He yanked the covers back and sat straight up. "Where's Izumo?! What happened?" Kotetsu stopped carving and looked at him.
"You're a heavy sleeper, you know? Izumo's fine. He's teaching the people how to maintain the garden."
"But... the spikes? They hit him." Kotetsu continued his carving.
"It was just a water clone. You can relax. You should keep yourself in check more often though. Going into a berserk like that isn't safe for you."
Naruto stared at his hands. "I know. It just brought me back to when I thought Sasuke had died by Haku's ice mirror technique. I was sure I had lost him for good." The memory stung Naruto as it replayed in his mind.
"Hm. Well we only have two days left, so maybe you can find someone to give this to as a gift." He tossed the carving he made to Naruto and left the tent before Naruto could say anything else.
Holding it in his hand he saw a neatly carved leaf.
Thanks.