A/N: Hello everyone! Just to warn you: this thing is LONG. and it is COMPLICATED! Especially at the end.
Questions and Answers:
To all: The reason that this is listed as Naruto and Temari is because they are the main characters. That is what the little thing is for to list the two characters the story focuses on most. Hence why I chose to list it as Naruto and Temari. It still remains an Ino/Naru
To D-scribe: Sir, or madam, I am insulted by your 'review.' You started out as if you were going to inform me on how to write MY stories. You carried out your descriptions of my failing with a rude and very unhelpful manner. I'm sorry I made it 'painful to read' and didn't have 'the courtesy' to do things YOUR way. The next time you review any storyu take the writer's feelings in mind. You did not say anything to be helpful, you said them in a way that would agitate me.
If your goal was to get me angry, you succeeded. If your goal was to anger me enough to change my story, you failed. If your goal was to aid me by giving an actual review and help me by pointing out a small mistake, you failed miserably.
Fuck you D-scribe. In the neck. I don't have to fit your mold. I also do not have to post theses stories at all. I do it for recogniton and help in my writing, not to be insulted in such a base and badly veiled manner.
I humbly request you please never review one of my stories again, or at least have the decency to get it checked by someone with a filter.
Two years ago…The night of Uchiha Sasuke's and Haruno Sakura's wedding…
Ino entered the Garden, she absently thought about the sandals and dress she had bought earlier that month. Naruto was on his knees, the special black suit he bought for the event ruined. The black soil meshed with the fabric and made him seem to be one with the ground, spawning from it along with his flowers.
"You know," he said after a long intake of breath, "I actually thought that I had a chance. I really did. Well…" he laughed bitterly, "Looks I was wrong eh Ino? Dead. Last. Wrong." He turned to look at her.
She was a bit shocked to see he wasn't crying. His eyes were like they were on the first night he had allowed her to come. Dark. Tired. And Sad.
"Naruto. She never would have been good for you. Even if Sasuke had never come back."
He turned from her and seemed to look at something. "I know. It isn't Sakura."
"Then-"
"I don't think you should come back here Ino."
Ino froze, "W-what?"
Please don't let him think or say that. Not that. I don't want to be alone…Ino murmured. It was no longer about the flowers, as Ino now had some she had planted. The shed, which held all of Naruto's surprisingly high end gardening tools, they had built together one of the rare days both of them had the day off.
It was then she saw the real face of Naruto, calm and happy, because he was with someone who accepted him.
Someone who genuinely loved him.
It was that face, the true face of him, which she had fallen in love with. It was the face he had when he had asked to some back, openly, with her own flowers to grow.
"Naruto…why would you ask me that? Don't you see that I…?"
He smiled, but she did not see it. "Are you sure Ino? Are you sure you really love me?"
Ino furrowed her brow and took a step closer to him, "Yes."
"Then you should never come back."
Ino felt herself grow faint. It was as if she had been struck hard in the stomach. "Why," she whimpered. "WHY! Just because you feel sorry for yourself?! Because you want to mope around alone?! I WON'T ACCEPT THAT!"
"I wish…" he sighed, "I wish I could hate her." Ino's fury ebbed, only slightly, "I wish I could spit on her name. I want to be able to scream and hate her for she did! I want to make her hear the sound in my heart when I see her with him ogling over him! HE BETRAYED US! NOT THE VILLAGE! US! And she just takes him back without a single thought or worry! What about me...WHAT ABOUT WHAT I WANT?! WHAT I FEEL!" he slammed his hands on the ground hard enough to make the small garden shake.
"Naruto it's not that bad…" Ino said. Wished. Hoped.
Naruto looked at her with one eye, now slightly slit shaped, "Yes it is. I thought I had a chance to break away and be happy. To have something I'd wanted for a long, long time." He turned from her. "That fucking village. I sweat, bleed, and cry for them. I've given them everything. And what I didn't give they took. My family first, or any chance of a real one. Then my dignity. Then my humanity. But I kept my pride. Through beatings and their fucking attempts to break me. God so many times I was nearly…" he growled and crushed a small weed with a swift slice of his hand.
"Naruto…what are you talking about?" Ino was scared. What he had described was horrible. Could the villagers, the same ones she fought (and killed, never forget the blood on your hands dear Kunoichi) for, the same ones that smiled and waved and bought flowers from her…
Could they have hurt Naruto?
The blonde demon container stood. He turned to her and took a deep shuddering breath. "Ino do you know the date of the day the Fourth defeated the Demon Fox Kyuubi?"
Ino blinked, surprised, and moved her eyes from side to side, "Of course, everyone in the village does. The tenth of October."
"Do you know what my birthday is?"
Ino cringed a little. In the year she had known him she had yet to ask Naruto for the date. He didn't seem to mind, as no one else knew it either. She shook her head to answer.
"October tenth."
Ino froze. It felt as if her body stopped functioning. Her mind, however, began to work like an engine, grinding together to reflect and analyze what Naruto, had just said.
In a flash it came to her, the strange mark on his stomach.
"Naruto…did…did Yondaime put it in you…?" she whimpered turning her head to look him in the eyes.
His blue orbs were glowing, two points of burning light in the gloom of the Garden. Each individual flower began to drain away the light leaving Ino with only Naruto's eyes as a beacon.
"Yes."
Ino was hit suddenly with it, the reason why Naruto lived in that rundown shack of a building, why the elders of the village glared at him with such hatred.
"Why? Why did he put it in you?"
"I don't know. And I really don't care. Whatever reason he had has become a farce. A joke. Something that has been spit and pissed on. Ever since the day I was born the village has wanted me dead, buried, forgotten. No matter what I did…it always seemed like I was never going to be happy…"
"Naruto, do you really mean that?" Ino asked, holding her hands in front of her breast.
He didn't answer.
"Do you really want me to leave?"
He turned his body to her, but kept his eyes on the ground. "It would be better if you didn't come back. People will notice. They'll hold it against you if we start meeting a lot." He moved his eyes to glance at her, saw the sadness in her face, and quickly threw his eyes back to the dirt.
"Is that what you really want?" He clenched his fists tighter. "Or what you think I want?"
Naruto looked to her again. The sadness was still there, but it had been clouded by something. He gulped when he saw it. It was the same thing he had forced himself to look into the mirror every time he woke up and decided to live.
The determination to continue.
At his worst he had been suicidal, but he had realized if he did that they would win. They would grin and never then forget him. And he had sworn to never be forgotten as something in the dark. He was going to live on, and show them all.
That same feeling burned in Ino's sky blue eyes.
Ocean and Sky met softly.
Ino walked to him, her held high, but her eyes down, and nibbled on her lip. "I…I want to stay here. I want to keep coming here…I want to see the flowers again," she turned her eyes to his. "I want to see you again Naruto."
His eyes threatened to turn from her, to looked somewhere else, but they lingered. "We'll still go on missions, in town and…"
She shook her head violently. "No…not that. Not the face you put on to make them think they're right. I want to see you the one who made this place. Who made your soul into something tangible…something that can be held," her hand cupped a large blossom.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why…why…" he couldn't add anymore. He felt his chest constrict, it felt heavy, and fragile at the same time. He took hold of her shoulders, his fingers and hands shaking ever so slightly. He had suspected it, but because of his own pain he had ignored it, hoped it would go away, but it had not.
At least, he hoped it had not.
"Tell me why Ino."
She smiled. Slowly, with almost no hurrying at all, she kissed him softly on the lips. "Because I love you Uzumaki Naruto."
The blonde gaped at her. Tears brimmed his eyes, and spilled over them. His face trembled, on the verge of releasing everything within him.
But he didn't. He hugged her to him and pressed his face into her hair, to capture her scent.
"I love you too, Ino…"
That night, Yamanaka Ino and Uzumaki Naruto slept in the garden. They did not make love. They barely touched, but they did not need to. There would be time to give into the body later for them, the present, was for the soul.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Temari felt her own tears drip from her chin and wiped them away with no recognition for the action. "That's beautiful…"
Ino smiled, "Not really." Temari blinked. "You ever slept on dirt in nothing but a bridesmaid's dress and high heels? Try waking up, even to that Garden, and not be stiff. I had more kinks in my spine than Orochimaru's 'love dens.'" Ino emphasized this by cracking her back in her chair. "But Naruto knew a few good message techniques so I was ready to head home in less than an hour."
Temari, who was a little flustered about her next question took a short breath, "Did…you two…"
"Did we ever have sex there? Or did we start there?" Temari nodded with a visible, yet defiant, blush. Ino laughed, at first snickering before letting out a belt of full blown laughter. "No. Our first time was after I gave Naruto some specialty Ramen for his birthday. I went over after he had just gotten back from a tough mission so all he had done was showered and jumped in bed." Ino's face turned red and she appeared to drool. "well he gave me a little kiss and…as he was laying on his bed I jumped him and we had sex." Temari gaped at her. "What?"
"Well…every other part of your relationship is so…well romantic…and that's kind of anticlimactic."
Ino smiled once more, "That's because it was only the first time we had sex. Not the first time we made love." Temari raised an eyebrow. Ino did not elaborate. She stood up and stretched. There was a dull light on the horizon. "I'd better go."
"Aren't you going to tell me about it?"
"Why? Are you that much of a pervert?" Temari huffed. "I'm sorry Temari-san, but that is private. The other things are the little stories couples always tell. But that night…it's not going to ever see the light of day. A diamond that precious may just burn up…do you understand?" Ino asked, her smile slightly whimsical.
She nodded, "Yes, I think I do."
"Good. I'll be on a mission from tomorrow to maybe a month from now, so if you go the Garden there's a good chance you won't see Naruto before midnight, and since you're with him during the day you'll be able to tell when he needs to go there. Good morning Tamari-san."
And with that, Yamanaka Ino leapt out of the window. Temari watched her jump off toward her home and sighed, leaning back in the border-line comfortable chair.
"Well…that was an interesting night…" she sighed before her eyelids closed over her deep green orbs.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
The same day Temari walked stiffly into Naruto's office to find the blond face down in his paper work. Tsunade was beside him looking over the papers while sipping some tea. "Ohayo Temari-san," she mumbled as she lifted Naruto's head to get a sheet of paper and then let it go. Temari winced at the sound made by his forehead connecting with the desk.
He didn't stir.
"He's fine," Tsunade quipped as she looked over the form. When she read a few lines, squinting a little, she smiled and patted his head. "Tell him when he wakes up he's a good boy. Well," she stood and stretched, not only her arms but her extensive and tremendous cleavage, and groaned. "I'd better get to work. Wake him up in about a half hour." She nodded to the younger female blonde and left, wiggling her hips as she went in a provocative manner.
Temari turned back and looked at the sleeping Naruto. His face was softly lit by the morning sun and Temari had to admit he looked extremely peaceful.
She smiled and let him sleep. The resulting awakening happened just after lunch when he smelled a large bowl of ramen, courtesy of Shizune, who knew of his plight. The three of them ate together and all was calm.
And so the light bathed them.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Ten days later…Noon…just after the Bang…
"I hate that fucking cannon," Naruto grunted.
Temari giggled, although the reason he did hate it was not very funny, it did brighten her face to see such an obvious emotion on his face.
Naruto himself was more tired than angry. A few more ninja had come in with the need for dangerous operations, and because of it Tsunade had given Naruto slightly more responsibility. He was beginning to see a pattern along with his mentor. Some of these, caused by simple wounds in battle, were obviously caused by some strange poison, or worse, a jutsu that could be taught to mere grunts.
Temari had been told some of this when it was late and she wanted to help Naruto work.
The doors to his office burst open and a very haggard looking Tsunade stalked inside. "UP! MOVE! FOLLOW!" she bellowed.
The two blondes were kicked out of the stupor and did as she demanded.
The two younger ninja looked at each other and noticed Tsunade was either throwing her hips out because she was drunk, or tired. But that didn't matter. Naruto was watching her hips because he was male, Temari because she couldn't believe a woman could be shaped like Tsunade was a still be so strong.
Women in Suna usually ended up with grotesquely placed muscles.
But that's a story for another day and sexual persuasion…
All three blondes entered Tsunade's office and the eldest of them closed the door, hard enough to make it reverberate in its frame, and pressed a hidden switch in the wall. One of the secret doors Temari had first seen opened and Tsunade ducked into it. She turned back, her eyes glaring daggers at them, and motioned for them to follow.
Naruto did so without question and Temari sighed, continuing after the duo.
When they reached their destination Temari gaped.
Naruto took a seat at a small table and set up a cup with two small dice in it. He noticed the Suna-Kunoichi, "You okay Temari?" he asked.
"The Sake…it's…it's…so much…" she said pointing to a huge barrel that was taller than Naruto. Tsunade was currently filling three bottles for them. She set them down on the table and then pulled out several handfuls of coins and dropped them next to her bottle.
"Ready to lose?" she grunted to Naruto, who was already shaking the cup.
"HAH!" Naruto called happily, "You may need to keep that, don't you need a new Hip Tsunade-BAA-chan?" he asked.
"Suck your pacifier Gaki," Tsunade grunted in response and pushed two small coins forward. "Cho."
"You two…come down here to drink…and gamble…during work hours?" Temari accused of them.
"Temari-san," Tsunade said, before cursing. It was Han. "do you know how much I hate my elders? I want to strangle them every day. And they never seem to die. I wish, and pray, and hope that one day Homura and Kotaru just curl up and DIE like the insects they are."
"What did they do today to cause this Tsunade?" Naruto dropped the –bachan. For now.
"They come into MY hospital. Enter MY operating room while I'm working on one of MY ANBU and THEY demand I take away some of Naruto's responsibilities. Maybe someone should tell those old dirty motherfuckers Naruto wouldn't have as many responsibilities if they got off their asses and did more than organize missions! TEMARI!"
"YES MA'AM!" Temari called back.
"GAMBLE! DRINK!" Tsunade held up the girl's bottle for emphasis.
Temari obeyed.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Shizune crashed the doors to the gambling den just as Tsunade was about to strangle Naruto for cheating. "TSUNADE-SAMA!"
"WHAT?!" the Fifth screamed as she cut off the circulation of Naruto's blood to his brain.
"An entire ANBU squad has been compromised! All four members have been hit with that jutsu and their organs are deteriorating! We need you at once!"
Tsunade's brow furrowed and she looked at Naruto. The comedy of their little interaction was gone. Naruto checked his Bachan for any signs of anti-sobriety and used a healing technique she had developed to speed up the breakdown of the toxin.
"Who is the commander?"
"Nyosai."
Naruto froze. His entire body was rigid. He turned his head to Shizune. "Nyosai?" she nodded. "The entire squad?"
Again she nodded.
Naruto dashed past her, nearly shoving Shizune into the wall. Tsunade and Temari watched as the next Hokage flew off. "Who is on that squad?" Tsunade asked.
"Uh…" Shizune remembered quickly, "Yosumai Momo, Hyuuga Hasuki, and Yamanaka Ino."
Temari's blood ran cold.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
The Hospital that cared for ANBU and other ninja was located close to the third hidden gate of Konoha. This way no injured ninja would be stuck at the main gate with civilians, who as a rule never have injuries as bad as some ninja.
Now, a certain blonde was tearing across the rooftops of Konoha toward said hospital. Those who saw him gave him a wide berth; Konoha may be full of bigoted fools, but not even the most foolish stands between an injured she-wolf and her mate.
Or would vixen be more appropriate?
Despite it, they let Naruto be, his rage was tangible, as was his emotional duress. He would let no one stand in his way.
He slammed against the doors, causing them to crack. The receptionist nurse put her fingertips to the arm of her glasses and adjusted them angrily. "Uzumaki-sama! You know those doors slide-"
Naruto was in front of her, leaning over her like a beast. "Yamanaka Ino. Where is she?"
The nurse gulped and quickly checked her computer. "Third floor. Room 17."
"Arigato Komugi-san." Naruto vanished and slammed open the doors to the stairs barreling up them like a mad man.
As he reached the appropriate floor he stopped at the door, his hand clenched around the cold metal of the handle. He took several steadying breaths. Tsunade had told him rage, sadness, and anger never helped the wounded. It only made them worse. The bedside manner must be content and calm at all times.
With his emotions now in check, as much as Naruto could in his case, he slowly opened the door and stepped foot onto the floor. He passed by an ANBU guard who nodded to him. He nodded back and entered the critical care unit which held Rooms 10-35. As he stalked, head high and arms swinging in his determined manner, he read each numbers off in his head.
10. 11. 12…13…14…15…16…he stopped at 17 and looked at it. His eyes scanned the frame and he noticed the name plate that had been slid in place either just prior or after its assigning.
Yamanaka Ino.
The man who would become Rokudaime Hokage pushed open the door.
"Naruto?"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Haruno Sakura had been given more responsibility. At one point she had merely been Tsunade's apprentice and her assistant on non lethal or urgent surgeries. Now, she commanded the entire staff of the Konoha Medic Ninja corps and was in charge of the wing that now housed the ninja recovering and suffering from the odd jutsu.
Today when she had left her home and gone to work she had not known she would soon be sitting at the side of her best friend, holding her hand and hoping she would live. The scope of the problem had encompass most of Ino's body.
Her liver, one valve of her heart, and one lung were beginning to fail and decay while the rest of her was still alive.
The only reason she was alive now was because of a strong jutsu scroll Sakura had mastered. It slowed the metabolism, in essence slowing the decay as well.
Yamanaka Ino now appeared to be sleeping, while her actual state was close to that of a coma.
Sakura now sat, looking at her friend. The first person to really see her was dying. There was almost nothing she herself could do. She could heal the decay, but she didn't know how to cure or stop it. Only Tsunade had the experience and knowledge to tell which of the three afflicted organs was the host of the jutsu and was the only one who could remove it while Ino's body was in its current sleep state.
The rooms were dark and cut off from light so not to irritate any sleeping patients. Each room held two beds and the most advanced medical equipment on both sides. The room had only Ino's bed, and Ino in it.
Sakura's head lifted as she heard the door open and saw someone she did not expect.
"Naruto?"
"Hello Sakura."
Sakura furrowed her brow, Naruto noticed it had a few early wrinkles, "what are you doing here? Do you have a message from Tsunade?"
Naruto gave her a sideways glare, "No. I don't have a message from Tsunade," he spat.
"Then what are you-"
"Quiet…" Naruto said softly. He took Ino's other hand and tested her pulse. "You used a variation of the Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (1)?" Naruto asked as he moved around to the end of her bed to check her chart. He flipped through the pages.
"Yes," she glared at him as he continued to flip. "It's a scroll based jutsu so we only need a little bit of chakra to recharge it. Why are you here, Naruto?"
Naruto clicked his tongue against his teeth. "I'm here because-"
"I sent him to get a preliminary view of the patients. Is it as bad as we were told Naruto?"
The demon container nodded, Temari, who had accompanied Tsunade and Shizune inside, noticed Naruto, who was now facing Tsunade and away from Sakura, was barely holding in his emotions.
Sakura, who glared slightly at Temari, scoffed. "Trying to act all high and mighty eh Naruto. You are just a messenger."
"Sakura enough. Let me see her," Tsunade ordered moving to Ino's side. Naruto watched, his eyes unreadable. Temari moved to Naruto's side and put a hand on his higher shoulder. He looked at her and gave a thin smile, then returned his eyes to Tsunade.
The older medic nin moved her hands over Ino's body, stopping at the afflicted areas before moving on again. She narrowed her eyes and pushed her fingertips into Ino's belly the woman sighed and took in breath.
"I thought so…" Tsunade straightened up and cracked her back by pushing on it with her hands. "The jutsu hit her stomach. It's taken root inside of her and moving through her bloodstream. It's so advanced its being digested by her body and spreading with the nutrients she gets from normal food." Tsunade tapped her chin.
"So? Can't you just give her a transplant?" Naruto asked, even Sakura heard the bit of distress in her voice.
"Naruto," Tsunade began, but was cut off by Sakura.
"It is completely insane to transplant her stomach Naruto. There is almost no precedence for it. To do that we would have to sever and then reconnect more nerves and veins than any one surgeon can keep track of. There's also the fact that if the infection is based in her stomach it may have spread to her intestines, colon or bladder. If that has happened…there is no chance for her."
Naruto whipped his entire body around and growled at Sakura, low and deadly, "Don't. Don't say things like that. Tsunade-sama can heal her. You can do it right, Tsunade?" he turned to the elder ninja.
Tsunade's face was grim. "She's right Naruto."
"THEN STOP TALKING!" he roared. "We have time. The jutsu has slowed down her metabolism to a standstill! You have time to do the transplant!"
"If only it was her stomach. Naruto we'd have to remove the liver and heart first. Both would take far too much time. By making sure she doesn't die during the operation on her stomach we ensure she dies before the operation by the way of her entire body being infected."
Naruto's shoulders hitched. "…Can't…" he wiped his eyes harshly on his sleeve. "Can't you just…use the healing palm…thing?!" he hiccupped. Salty tears fell hotly from his eyes and he began to grit his teeth to hold back his sobs.
"No Naruto. There is no way to use the Shōsen no Jutsu (2) to heal such extensive-"
Naruto let out a howl of rage and stomped his foot hard on the tile floor so hard it cracked. "SHUT THE FUCK UP SAKURA! I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT WHAT YOU SAY!" he roared in her face. He dashed to Tsunade and grabbed her shoulders, tears tumbled down his face openly and he shook slightly, "Please Tsunade…you have to help her…I'll do whatever I need to, to help her." His head dropped and he fell to his knees, bowing before Tsunade. "Please Tsunade. Try. For me."
Tsunade, who had been static through all of Naruto's shifts in emotion, and let her arms hang at her side. "Anything?"
Naruto lifted his head and nodded. "Yes."
"There is one jutsu. And only one. It requires so much chakra that merely activating it would equal the capacity of any Chunin in our forces. Do you understand Naruto?"
The blonde demon container nodded his head. "Yes. I'll do anything to help her…" he glanced at the sleeping Ino and began to hitch again, preparing to cry, "Anything…"
"Tsunade-sama what is-"
"Shut up Sakura." Sakura did as she was ordered. "It will take three days to prepare. If you want Ino to stay alive that long I suggest you stay on standby to recharge her sleeping seal. I'll instruct you how to use the technique as the preparations are finished. I won't see either of you until then," Tsunade turned from Naruto and Sakura and Temari and went to the door. "You'll be alone in this Naruto; all the other medics will be focused on the others that have been infected. I'll send for you when everything is ready."
Shizune bowed to them and gave Naruto a wan smile.
And with those words, Tsunade and Shizune left.
Naruto stood, slowly, and walked toward the far end of the room where he grabbed a chair and dragged it to Ino's side, across from Sakura. "Give me some time alone with her."
"What?! She's my patient and if you think I'm going to let-"
"Get out," he whispered. Those words carried so much weight and power Sakura felt her bones vibrate with it. She stood, slowly, and adjusted the doctor's coat she had on.
"If anything-"
"Go."
Sakura busied herself with something in her pockets and left. Temari gave Naruto a comforting squeeze on his shoulder and followed her. When they were outside Sakura closed the door and huffed. "Who does he think he is? Treating me like that?"
Temari scoffed and shook her head.
"What was that? Do you have something to say to me? Temari-san?!"
Temari looked her straight in the eye and deadpanned, "You're an asshole Haruno."
Sakura gaped at her, barely being able to think of a response before Temari turned and left, leaving the confused woman in her wake. Just as Temari exited the section of the hospital Sakura cried back to her, in a cracked and wavering voice, "It's Uchiha now!...Uchiha…"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Two days later…Konoha Hospital…Third Floor…
Temari looked at Nuto. He was freaking out. He was in the middle of highly sensitive Leaf-Head territory. And he did not enjoy it. "We're in their hospital Temari-sama!" he hissed through clenched teeth to try and keep people from reading his lips.
"Silence dammit," Temari grunted waving him off. "Just go eat some morphine or something while I visit Naruto."
"Why do you care about the Leaf-Head-On-Fire-chan so much?"
"I think I saw a Nue (3) outside the window," Temari hinted softly.
"WHAT?! HERE?! That would make sense…considering what they do to people! I'll need to find the cloud and get some arrows! I'll see you at 2:00 tomorrow morning!" he cried and vanished in a flurry of sand.
God dammit…Temari sighed mentally. She shook her head and entered the ward. She walked by each room, subconsciously counting the steps between doors, a trick Kankuro had taught her in case she was ever blinded and needed to escape.
She normally found this comforting, but right now it seemed like a countdown. For the last two days she had rested in her hotel room, trying to write a letter to Gaara about how he didn't have to worry about Naruto.
She couldn't do it because she knew that Gaara would never worry about Naruto. It was hard to believe the first person to righteously beat your ass like he did could ever be beaten by anything, let alone himself.
She counted her fifteenth step from door number 16 and stopped. With a sigh she knocked on the door. "Who is it?" came from behind the door. Naruto sounded expectant.
"It's Temari."
There was some silence. "Alright come in."
Temari opened the door and closed it by using her weight against it. She leaned back into the door.
Naruto had his back to her and anyone who would enter. Tactically that wasn't very smart for him, but if anything came in after Ino they would have to get through Naruto, and what was in him, first.
"How are you Temari?" he asked. It was hard to hear him. His head was down and he was concentrating on Ino.
"I wanted to ask you about something," she said.
"What?" he held up his head and turned to look at her.
Temari felt her chest contract as she lost her breath. Naruto had a look of true despair. Yet there was still strength in him. It shined through even the fear of loss, he fear that he would be alone again.
In that dark, windowless room, where no sunlight could reach, where the darkness of death loomed over both Naruto and Ino, where there was a chance one or both could lose their lives, Naruto gave off a light. It was a beacon of hope and determination that gave the chance of life for both of them.
And it was more beautiful than any flower. Any Garden.
Temari shook her head to clear it and looked into his eyes, which had a startlingly calm light. "I saw you…" she nodded to the unconscious form, "and Ino in the Garden…" she didn't have to add the 'having sex' at least she hoped she didn't.
He blinked and raised an eyebrow. She was surprised he was not surprised, "I know."
"What? How?" Temari asked.
Naruto tapped his nose. "That's why I used the clone when we saw each other in Tsunade's office. I smelled you from behind the door and thought you may be an enemy who had seen me at the Garden and decided to make sure by distracting you and Tsunade.
"So," he had looked off into space in remembrance, now he returned his scrutiny to her, "What did you want to know?"
Temari looked at the floor and then back at him, "Ino told me about the Garden. Everything. Most of it really. She left out something I thought I should ask about."
Naruto adjusted the chair so his body was facing the far wall. He leaned back and smiled his odd fox's grin, "So Temari-sama what knowledge can this little Kitsune grant you?"
"Smart ass," Temari sighed happily. "Ino said…something about the two of you making love…"
Naruto's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. "Ah…that…" he grinned as he remembered. He closed his eyes and actually smiled. "Do you know what the difference between making love and sex is Temari?" She shook her head. "Sex is physical. A guy gets hard. A girl wet. Those are physical reactions and can happen anytime. But making love is when you push your souls together. When you take the person in your arms and know you want them there, you want them to be happy.
"When Ino and I first had sex it was awkward, I was driven more by…" he grimaced and rubbed his belly, "urges and Ino was driven by the fact I'm a sexy beast with no shirt on." Naruto chuckled.
"She said that night would never see the light of day."
His grin widened, "Then this room is the perfect place to tell that story isn't it?"
"Yes. It is…"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
One year ago…The Garden…
The Garden. Light in the nightly gloom of Konoha's vast forest. In its center stood the master of the domain. Uzumaki Naruto. He is staring at something. Something small and frail and dying. He knows it is dying because it has been dying for the last eight years. He can see it more clearly now than the first night he found it.
He knelt down to one knee, not worrying about his pants this time; he's in his gardening clothes. Gently, with slow subtle movements many of his compatriots would never believe he could make, he stroked the petals of the ragged and rather pathetic flower. The one that had started everything.
He had never told Ino about this one. He never had to. She had never asked. He supposed she would sooner or later. And he would tell her…
But there was something about it that he sort of, kinda, hoped he didn't have to tell. It was a story as sad and pathetic as the flower itself.
So he wasn't too keen on revealing it to Ino.
Speaking of which…he thought.
He turned his head to the side and gazed at the collections of Ice Dragon's Breath. It had been hard cultivating them. Especially when he didn't want the base colors for more than two seasons. But his work had paid off. He moved the fronts, bred for their small size to create a very basic yet lovely cascade effect, and looked at one flower he had been making since Ino had come to the Garden.
Naruto realized he had been mean to her, done to her what they (how he referenced any who had put him down or wounded him in his life while in the Garden.) had done to him. So he had grown it as an apology.
Finding out if he even could grow it was one thing. Konoha had books on the flowers but they didn't have specific enough books. He had to order, at a hefty price by the way, a compendium collection of articles and findings on the flowers just to learn that the one he wanted was a genetic anomaly that occurred in .00002 of any garden with more than fifty-five ice dragons.
Basically: it's impossible to find one let alone buy one.
So Naruto calculated how much it would take. By much I mean he calculated time, flower growth rate, flower number, possibility of contamination by unwanted genes, and how much cow poop he would need.
Naruto thought his head would just go POP and he would fall over with his work unfinished.
Yet…
He had not. The flower he had worked for two years had finished growing. It stood proudly, just short enough to not be noticed when Ino watered them and just dark enough so when she pruned and preened she never saw it.
He let out a small contented sigh and stood. He turned to the shed where they kept their tools and took out the small trowel which would dig up the plant and prepare it for the journey to Ino's new apartment.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Same Year…Konoha…Retail District
Naruto knew the back alleys and side streets of Konoha better than even the thieves of the village. So it was fairly easy for the Gardener to deliver his special gift with no one seeing him.
Of course there was also the fact Konoha is dead at 10:30 in the retail district and it had just rang twelve. This was where Ino had bought her new apartment so she would be close to her parents' home.
But not too close.
Naruto poked his head out of the ally he was hiding in to check and see if Ino was there, he held the flowerpot to his chest and stroked the flower's closed bulb steadily. His ears pricked to the sound of people coming. He dashed back into the alley and pressed himself against the wall.
"Come on would it be so bad?" a male voice asked.
The scent of flowers and earth. Oh no…
"Don't you have anything better to do than bug me?"
Naruto gritted his teeth, bearing them slightly…Ino-chan…
The sounds of their footsteps and their voices drew close until Naruto heard them stop at where he estimated her stoop was located. "You keep saying no. Do you have a secret boyfriend? One no one knows about?"
Naruto tensed up.
"Why do you care so much anyway? I said no and that's it."
"I just want to know if you have a boyfriend. Is that so bad? It's a very simple question. 'Yes' or 'No,' in fact. So…do you have a boyfriend?"
Ino had taken out her keys to open her door and Naruto heard the individual keys still.
"N-no not really…"
No?! What the hell am I?!
Not her boyfriend…and you know it.
"But there is-"
"Is what? I'm just asking for one date Ino-san, one chance."
"Why are you so persistent?" Ino retorted.
"Because you're very beautiful. You obviously don't realize how lucky the guy who gets you is going to be. So can you come tonight?"
"You say that like I've said yes!"
"Okay, so you have no boyfriend, no missions, and no training due because Nyosai makes us train together. So what are you going to do?"
Naruto leaned in, wishing he could risk looking around the corner.
"Fine. I don't have anything to do tonight. We can meet at five is that fine?"
"Yes! Thank you Ino-san!"
"Go Hasuki. It's late and I'm tired."
"I'll see you later today at five!"
And Naruto heard him running away. He leaned against the wall again and slid to the ground. He let the pot drop between his legs. The bulb jostled a little and fell to face him. It opened under his chin and caught his tears.
What the hell was I thinking…
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Naruto knew about love. It was something that had to be screamed out or whispered. It had to be said loudly or softly. But love was fragile. It needed light and it needed water. It was like a flower itself.
And if it kept in the dark, shuttered and pushed away from the window sill, it wilted and fell until it died. Oh it could be brought back. But it would never be as it was.
And Naruto knew that.
But the reason he had shuttered it and hidden his flower was because no flower survived if it was struck down. Or stomped on.
Which they would do to her if they ever found out.
So he understood why Ino had said yes. How could she tell the truth without breaking a promise he had asked of her. The threat he had delivered after her first entry to the Garden had been replaced by the humble request to keep it a secret. Ino had agreed.
Naruto put his hands in his face as he sat in his apartment. He gazed at the flower from between his fingers and sighed. What could he ask of Ino in that case? Did he have any claim to her when the only thing they did was sex? No. It was purely physical. Yes they cared about each other, but the culmination of the feelings had been so far something primal and basic.
Loneliness and darkness spurred them onto continuing the act.
And it was an act. All of it. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid as to think Ino would stay with him.
When she wasn't even with him.
Naruto sighed. He looked at his clock. It was half past five. He groaned as he stood, as he had been sitting in the perfect angst position (4) all day. He took the flower. A bright yellow Ice Dragon's Breath. Ino's favorite color.
He took it to her apartment and snuck into her home and left it in the center of her kitchen table. He looked solemnly at the lone stalk and bud, and left.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
That night…The Garden…
Uzumaki Naruto sat cross-legged in his Garden. He gazed softly at the dying rose. To the untrained eye they would see only one pathetic and easily rid of flower among the others. But to Naruto, and anyone who had been around him long enough, they would see the other flowers, all of them from the Ice Dragon's Breath to orchids.
He had been running from the villagers. They were drunk, or something, he really didn't care. Trapped between them and the wall he used a smoke bomb and dashed through a crack he had found earlier that month. It had begun raining, one of their country's, for lack of a better word, temperamental storm.
He had run for hours, getting soaked and scratched by rain and bramble branches respectively. Before he knew it he was tired, hungry, and feeling like death cooled from a night in the freezer. For the first time in his, at this point, short life Naruto felt like sitting in the mud and dying.
He fell to his knees from weakness and then splattered face first into a collection of grassy weeds and mud.
Y'know…this could be it. I'll die…no one will care. They won't even look for me. Unless they want to mess up my body. But what's left to mess up?...I don't want to think about that right now…I'll just go ahead and die here.
I'm so…damn…tired…believe it…
And so the blonde closed his eyes.
The rain wasn't hitting his face. Only his eyes, as he had turned his head, but he was still blocked from the rain. He opened them, blinking at a random drop that fell into his left eye. When he looked up, rolling onto his back, he saw three big roses. They were drooping over him, their huge blossoms blocking him from the rain as it pelted all four of them.
He shifted his position and sat on his knees, bending down to look at them. He had fallen in the mud and still felt the rain, for a few minutes after he fell. So the plants had not been hanging the whole time.
"They stayed up…even through this," he pulled his head up and gazed at the violently black clouds. He didn't know how long it took him to succumb to the cold and rain but he knew it had been raining for over an hour already.
And these plants had endured it. From their size they had endured dozens of storms like this one as well. When even what gave them life threatened to squash them they stood, retaining their strength.
Their determination.
That night, amid thunder, water, and fury, Uzumaki Naruto had been reforged. He was not as weak as he had been, because he now had an outlet, something to put not only his anger and hatred into, but also his love. Something that would summon forth his inner peace.
Two of the three had withered as Naruto built his Garden, the first died after the two wing sections which framed them bloomed and took root. The second died after Ino began coming frequently.
The older Naruto, the one who had grown as strong, yet also as fragile, as the rose before him stroked its petals.
"Well, I'm not completely alone," he sighed.
"You're not alone at all,"
Naruto spun, placing his hand on the handle of his trowel. It wouldn't serve as an adequate weapon for anyone but a villager, but if worse came to worse the Rasengan was always within reach. He didn't need either.
It was Ino.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked. It couldn't be later than seven, eight at the most.
"I left the date early. When my security scrolls sent me a message saying I'd been broken into I thought it was prudent to check it out."
Naruto felt sweat collect on his forehead and temples. He forgot Ino's father had taught her how to receive psychic messages from scrolls. This made it increasingly hard to not get caught by her.
"And when I went home I found a pot full of these," she reached up and touched her hair. Naruto saw the flower in it and blushed. He didn't even realize that the Ice Dragon's Breath and her hair were the exact same color.
Naruto realized his subconscious was a bitch sometimes. Or perhaps a Vixen?
"Thank you Naruto. They're beautiful."
"I…I grew them for you," he stated dumbly.
Whether Ino wanted to be a smart ass and say 'I know' or not, she didn't. She walked to him and sat down, clearing the ground so she could sit on her calves in the traditional style.
"You were listening weren't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah…I was gonna surprise you."
"I'm sorry."
Naruto smiled sadly, "You don't need to say you're sorry Ino-chan. It's the truth. We aren't boy friend and girlfriend. We're-"
"But I love you!" she said urgently, leaning in and grabbing his empty hand in both of hers.
Naruto looked at this image. The three hands, entwined and clasped.
"Here."
"What?" Ino's face, already strained before, now became slightly confused.
"Here. Everything we do to show how much we love each other is done here. Never outside this place, never in any place people can see us. And its because I can't let them know about you."
Ino looked at the ground. Her hands began to tremble slightly. "We've been together in your house…" she blushed, "my house."
Naruto dropped the trowel and took her hands. "You love me? Really? Knowing there's a demon in me? Knowing if I do exceed all those who came before me as Hokage you and any children we may have will be tormented until you die?"
Ino looked him in the eyes.
"Yes."
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
"And then?" Temari asked, rigid.
Naruto gave her a wide foxy grin. "I suggest Make-Out Tactics chapter five for complete details of what happened."
Temari blushed.
Naruto turned his head to Ino and gazed at her, "When it was over, as I looked down at her sleeping, she was covered in dirt and leaves and grass…" he smiled and brushed a stray lock from her forehead. "I knew no matter what I would still love her. I would marry her. And unlike Sakura…she would do the same. She would love me for the rest of her life…"
He leaned back and closed his eyes. "That is why I'm going to give everything that is mine. Even the power that Kitsune-teme (5) gives me. All of it…"
He stood and walked to a small tray that held a pitcher of water and some glasses, "even if it means my life."
Temari looked at the floor, there was nothing left to be said.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Uchiha Haruno Sakura let her hand fall from the door handle. Her brow was marked by wrinkles caused by worry. Her white doctor's coat, clean and crisp thanks to a nameless servant at her new home, ruffled as the hand, searching for her pen to mark off Ino's name on her check list of patients, fell out her pocket and hung limply by her side.
She gulped.
And unlike Sakura, she would do the same.
That was what Naruto believed.
That was what he believed about her.
And he was right.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
The Suna blonde stared at the dying rose. In her hand a watering can filled with cool water from a well just beyond the reaches of the Garden's borders. She surmised Naruto had dug it for Ino who couldn't just refill hers with chakra created water. Looking at the rose she realized what it was.
It was Naruto's pain.
It and its siblings had all grown from the pain of Naruto's life. The first had died when he had grown the Garden, when he had found a safe place.
The second had died when Ino entered there and became a part of his life, when he had found true companionship.
This one, it would die when Naruto and Ino were together again. And it would die in a few hours.
Temari believed this with every fiber of her cynical heart. Even if she lifted her boot, and crushed it again and again and again, it would not die. It would hold onto life and cling, drawing all it could from the pain Ino's wounded body and lack of life was causing Naruto.
Temari closed her eyes and took a long breath.
"Naruto…"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
One hour until the implementation…
"The seals drawn on your arms will take in the chakra you release. Remember they serve as the main direction for the release of all the chakra. Think of them as extra routes for it to travel," Tsunade explained as she read from a large and very old looking tome. "Once the seals glow red you'll have enough. You'll charge the chakra into your finger tips and strike at the marked places on Ino's body. Hold your fingers there until the mark glows blue. Remember that."
"My marks red, hers blue. Opposites. Right," Naruto responded as Shizune and another medic nin drew the seals on Naruto's bare arms and chest. A swirl was drawn over his heart and from there the marks radiated outward. They converged on his shoulders where they then cascaded down in three lines to his hands, went over each finger and ended in a swirl in his palm. His index and middle fingers were completely covered in ink.
He was sitting on an examination bed on the same floor as Ino while Tsunade went over the ritual with him. Ino had been moved to the same Room Hyuuga Neji had been healed in after the failed attempt to return Sasuke. She was being watched over by Sakura who was also administering the seals on her friend's body.
"What order do I hit them in?" Naruto asked.
"Heart, then liver, then forehead, then stomach, then pelvic mound, then left thigh. All with the right hand. With the left, her right shoulder, left cheek, THEN her right cheek, and finally her heart again. Hold your fingers on the heart for the second time until the seal glows purple."
"What happens then?" he asked checking a symbol Shizune was copying onto his wrist.
"The ink will shift to where the source of her infection is. At that point Sakura will release the sleeping jutsu and you will send all the remaining chakra you have into that spot," Tsunade repeated from the book closing it and laying on her lap.
"Why do we have to release the sleeping jutsu?"
"Because the technique you're using will rely on Ino's current metabolism. If it is slowed to a standstill by the jutsu then the second technique will be slowed as well, and the chakras you expend on her will disperse. There's also a chance the chakra you send into her stomach to quell the infection may just release the sleep jutsu and do nothing to her infection at all!" the older Kunoichi explained.
Naruto took a deep breath, "Alright." He quickly began to memorize the order he had to strike the seals in.
Tsunade stood from the chair she had been in and made sure to heft the tome under one arm, "I'm going ahead to see if the seals on Ino's body are finished. If they are we're going ahead. Unless you need more time?"
"No. I've memorized every seal I need to make and every mark to hit and when. I'll do it perfectly."
Tsunade smiled and nodded. She turned to leave.
"Tsunade-baachan." She looked back at Naruto. He was resting his hands on the mat covering the table. He held his arms out from his body as to not smudge the markings. "Tell Sakura to keep her head in there. I don't want to fail because of her."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I'll tell her that."
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Naruto stopped at the door to the room in which he would attempt to save the life of the woman he loved. He looked to the left. "Uzumaki-sama?" one of his ANBU guards asked.
Temari came around the corner. In her hands was a pot. In the pot were four yellow Ice Dragon's Breath. "I got them from her house," the desert born blonde smiled, "For when she wakes up."
"Thank you Temari-chan," and Naruto pushed the door open and entered.
He grimaced. It smelled like nothing. The no-smell of disinfectant and cleaners. He hated it. But at least he could smell Ino, and see her. She was at the center of the room with Sakura sitting on a small cushion beside her. Temari was inspecting her body, and several shuriken shaped ink marks on her bare body.
Naruto felt a flush creep into his cheeks as he realized Ino was naked.
Completely. He sighed and shook his head. He wondered if it was necessary for her to be in the nude for the procedure, and resigned to remember Tsunade could be as perverted, if not more, than Ero-Sannin. "Is everything ready?" he called to the two wake women.
Tsunade stood, cracking her back as she did it, and nodded, "Yes. Anytime. Only you and Sakura will be here, your guards will remain outside for Ino's privacy. If…when she wakes we have gowns for her so she can be taken to her room." Tsunade walked to the doors to leave. She would have put a hand on Naruto's shoulder if it didn't mean ruining the work of Shizune and causing an hour delay. "Good luck brat."
"Thanks old woman," he snipped back happily.
Tsunade left the room. Sakura kept her eyes on the ground. There were only two people to look at, and they were both topless. Sakura didn't want to look at Naruto because she was married. And she didn't want to look at Ino because she was embarrassed, not just about the difference in her bust size either.
"Remember, once the ink moves into one big swirl that's when you release the sleeping jutsu," Naruto reminded Sakura as he took his place at Ino's head. He sat on his knees and clapped his hands together. "Here I go…"
And he began the series of four hundred and nineteen hand forms.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Tsunade was walking back to the critical care ward when she noticed an occupied room's door was open. By procedure all such rooms were locked and kept locked until assigned. She peeked inside and saw Temari looking out the window.
"Temari-san?" she asked entering the room fully. "What are you doing in here?"
"Just…waiting," she explained.
"It will be fine. Naruto's-"
The chakra they felt landed on them like an Iron curtain. It suppressed everything, even the feeling of the air conditioners on their skin.
"Going to do fine…"
Temari nodded. Because her back was to Tsunade, the elder of the two never did see the plants Temari was holding in her lap.
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
The surge of energies around her was like a natural event. A typhoon or a hurricane. Or something in equal parts power and ferocity. Uchiha Haruno Sakura was at the center of it, or in truth half a meter to the right of it.
Naruto had gathered the equivalent of the villagers, the students and teachers of the academy and half the participants of the next Chunin exams in chakra and was now forcing it into the body of his lover. Sakura was trying to keep up with him, but the intensity of his chakra had made filling the different seals with power far quicker than Sakura would have believed possible.
In less than ten minutes Naruto had complete all the hand signs, filled all six lengths of symbols on his arms and chest with chakra and had completely engulfed all but one of the seals on Ino's body with more than enough chakra. He now raised his left hand and jabbed it into Ino's heart. The seal at once began to darken, until it was a deep bruise like purple.
"NOW!" Naruto bellowed.
Sakura drew out the scroll that had induced Ino's slumber and bit her thumb. In one swift sweep of both arms she marked the entire length with her sacrament and rolled it shut. "KAI!" she called as she clapped her hands to Ino's breast bone, under her neck, with the scroll between them.
As the marks converged over Ino's stomach she gasped and arched her back. Naruto focused everything he had into his right hand. As he did Sakura noticed Ino was grimacing. The pain from her organs…she thought. She held Ino down by way of her shoulders.
Naruto growled, he knew what Sankuru was doing but because she was leaning over Ino she was blocking him from delivering the last bit of chakra. He dashed around so he was at Ino's feet and sat on her legs. She cried out, not only from her won pain but from the amount of foreign chakra ramming through her bloodstream.
SHITSUME NO KAI (6)!
He clapped his hand to Ino's belly and the shockwave of chakra hit both him and Sakura. Tsunade hadn't told him about this. He roared as he was pushed away from her and forced his fingers into the floor to steady his hold and keep his flesh in contact with hers.
But Sakura hadn't been able to keep her hold on Ino who was now screaming and writhing under him. "Naruto! Oh god it hurts! Help me Naruto!" she screeched while clawing at her face and hair.
Naruto cried out as he was blown back by the release of his own power. He collided with the far wall and then tumbled to the ground, coughing up some blood and mucous mix. He wiped his mouth and crawled, barely able to move his arms, to Ino.
"Ino-chan. Ino-chan! Answer me!" he whispered, his voice wavering, as he held her head. She groaned, her throat dry from not using it and her sudden bouts of yelling.
Ino turned her head to look at him. "I'm…naked," she croaked.
He grinned and laughed. Tears rimmed his eyes, he didn't both wiping them away, "Yeah…you are."
"What's with that look?" Ino asked as she tried to move.
Naruto stopped her and sat up, "You looked really sexy with the seals on you," he said with his trademark grin.
"Pervert…" Ino giggled. As she was about to laugh she suddenly coughed. Naruto's browed furrowed as she kept coughing. She curled up and fell onto her side before letting a thick goop made of blood and spittle shoot out of her mouth.
"INO-CHAN!"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
Tsunade looked at the report Shizune had given her. Sakura had been there to look things over. It was clear what was going to happen to the pink haired medic, and after Shizune's review of Yamanaka Ino, it was definite.
She was going to die.
Naruto had done the jutsu perfectly. His power had been enough to heal her body of rot and decay, repairing her organs and stopping the virus like jutsu from spreading. However it did not destroy the source of the jutsu. The damned thing was still in Ino's stomach.
The worst part was, Naruto's chakra had entered her stomach, and had burned the lining. Ino now suffered from two ulcers that were only agitated by the decay caused by the original virus. Now, no matter how many ulcers they healed, more would open speeding the decay.
There was no way to stop it from killing her in time.
"Can't we put her to sleep again?"
"No. Even if we put her body to a standstill the infection may be active while she isn't. It's taken complete root now. We…we don't have anything that can save her."
The three women, Shizune, Tsunade and Sakura, all fell silent. Only the faint ticks of the round faced clock on the far wall marked the passage of time. "Has anyone told Naruto?" Sakura asked after a very uncomfortable silence.
"No."
"Then-"
"I will," Tsunade broke in. "It will be small but at least then I'll be able to ask what he'll want to suggest for the funeral arrangements." And I can say I'm sorry…she added mentally.
Tsunade left her two apprentices and stalked down the halls toward Yamanaka Ino's room. As she walked she began to copy counting the number of steps between doors. It was something she had learned from Sandaime.
She also began to look back and remember the when she first realized Naruto had a lover, someone who could help him and love him; in the ways that she could not. The attempts to push the boy into a more active love life had all been to increase his desire to protect the village and such become a better Hokage.
The Godaime Hokage stopped at the door containing her successor and the woman who would have been his wife and true love. She wished she was going to war.
Her knuckles rasped on the door. "Who is it?" a woman's voice?
"Tsunade."
"Come in baa-chan," Naruto answered. Tsunade did as she was bade and saw Temari was the one who opened the door. The blonde had obviously been crying and had just recently stopped. She sniffed a little as Tsunade went to the bed.
Naruto was sitting with his back to the door once more, bent just slightly. He seemed smaller, more from his lack of energy or attitude. Ino was awake and holding Naruto's hand. She was pale and sweating. A tube was in her mouth to drain any excess blood from her throat to stop her from choking on it. Tsunade felt something hit her in the chest as Ino's hitched with each struggling breath.
The pain she must be feeling was incredible.
"Hey Tsunade," Naruto whispered. He said it so the words rhymed. "What's up?"
Tsunade felt something hot sting her eyes, she blinked them away, "I came here to tell you-"
"Don't say it…I-I I know it's gonna happen. But I don't want anyone to say it out loud!" he sobbed, pushing his face into Ino's body, which was covered by the sheets. She looked at him and stroked his hair with her free hand.
Tsunade couldn't look anymore. She turned her head away and suddenly noticed the plants on the bed stand. She narrowed her eyes and walked to it, being slow and steady as if it would attack her. Her hand reached out and touched the petals. When she pushed a bit of chakra into the plant it gave off a short glow, which quickly dispersed.
"NARUTO!" she cried, causing Ino to grunt form the sound.
"Wh-what?" he asked sniffing looking at her.
"What is this plant? Is it what I think it is?!"
"A yellow Ice Dragon's Breath…yeah why?"
"Where did you get them?"
"I grew them…"
"You have more?"
"Ino-chan does. They're all in her house. Why do you want to know, Tsunade?"
Tsunade dashed out of the room and crashed into the nurse who was bringing Ino her food. "AH! TSUNADE-SAMA! I'm so-"
"SHUT-UP!" Tsunade roared back. "Listen to me! Get Shizune! Tell her to come to Yamanaka Ino's room at once!" The nurse blinked at her. "GO WOMAN!"
"AH! HAI!" the girl squeaked before running off.
"Tsunade…what's going on?" Naruto asked, standing now. He did not let go of Ino's hand.
Tsunade turned to look at Naruto, she was smiling and tears of joy were streaming down her cheeks. "You've just saved her Naruto."
The face he took was similar to when Iruka tried to explain things about mathematics to him, "Whaaa?"
Xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxxX
The mixture, was once the yellow of the flower petals, was now a goopy green color as Tsunade continued to add nasty smelling spices and at one point, a newt.
"So this will cure Ino-chan how?" Naruto asked, very skeptical.
"The petals of the Ice Dragon's breath are dark in color to draw sunlight to them. When the sunlight hits them they take as much energy from the rays as they need and let the rest filter through to the ground. In areas where it is icy the concentrated heat from the petals causes the ice to melt and thus the plant gets water.
"However the yellow plants have lighter color and therefore don't draw as much sunlight. They are considered an unwanted mutation and would wholly be ignored if not so rare. Medic-ninja all over the continent search for them despite this."
"Why?" Temari asked.
"Because of the same reason they are ineffective in gathering water on their own. The petals instead of filtering the light they need retain it. In short trapping the sunlight's energy within them. When charged with the chakra that normally flows through a person's body it causes a short burst of energy to be released.
"My mentor's mentor devised a way to direct this energy to heal someone when put into a salve or lotion. Healing things like skin cancer and leprosy, normally deadly diseases, that were made all but harmless."
"So you're making a potion to…"
"Use the same technique we tried earlier, but on a localized scale. Send all of that healing chakra straight into Ino's stomach after drinking the potion. This way we heal her stomach from the inside," Tsunade said smiling in a rather brilliant 'I just cured cancer and the common cold' way.
"I see…do I have to get painted on again. That one medic guy was looking at me funny…"
"Naruto she was a woman…"
Naruto had a very large sweat drop form on his temple. "Well…uh…she's very…" Naruto decided to shut up.
"No I'll be doing it. I'll just redirect the chakra from the Sōzō Saisei (7) to the seal I'll draw on her stomach," Tsunade explained.
"But Tsunade-baachan. You'll get all wrinkly and your boobs won't be jiggly anymore."
"MY BREASTS ARE NOT JIGGLY!" she screamed slamming her hand on the table, and there by demonstrating they are and quite a bit so. She blushed and pulled her coat tightly around her cleavage. "Shut up and leave me alone!"
Naruto gave her a good natured grin and kissed her forehead, "Thank you Tsunade-baachan. I know how much you hate looking old. I can't thank you enough."
"You don't have to thank me Naruto. It's my duty as Hokage and as a medic to do everything I can, despite what I may look like until I rest," Tsunade and Naruto shared a very similar smile before Naruto turned to be with Ino. "But if I wa to ask for something in return…"
Naruto turned to look at her.
"Get me some grandkids," deadpanned the older woman.
Naruto winced a little before laughing, a genuine smile on his face. He nodded. "Sure. I'll ask Ino-chan after her life is saved from a deadly jutsu."
Naruto and Temari left to watch over Ino.
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The two blondes were pushed out by Tsunade, who didn't want them to see her just after the use of the technique. Naruto guessed she had a soldier pill or two to help her sustain the illusion of her youth until she could get back to her home and rest.
Naruto was leaning back in his chair with his arms behind his head. Temari was sitting in a similar fashion except her legs were crossed and her hands were resting on her knees.
"Are you really going to marry her?" Temari asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Yep…"
"Gonna have little blonde hyperactive babies?"
"At least a dozen."
Temari looked at him like he was crazy. "Have you talked to her about that?"
"Yeah…she," he threw his thumb in the direction of the door, "wanted fifteen."
"Really?"
"Yep…" he said as he scratched his cheek. "Not even I have that much stamina."
There was silence once more.
Suddenly a lanky man shape dashed past them with a bundle of arrows in one hand and a bow in the other. "STOP! COME BACK!" a collection of Konoha hospital guards ran after him.
"I'm trying to help you! Damn leaf-heads! A NUE IS OVER YOUR HEADS AS WE SPEAK! Give me two hours and it's dead!"
"STOP HIM!"
"DAMN YOU! I HOPE CATERPILLARS GNAW ON YOUR BRAINS!"
"Was that your fault?" Naruto asked pointing in the direction of the fleeing neurotic.
"Yep…"
"Neat."
The door opened. Naruto and Temari stood. Tsunade's smiling face appeared before them and she stepped out of the way. Temari noticed that she looked older but not as old as she was.
"Naruto…she's awake."
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The End...
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A/N: sorry about that little rant at the beginning of this chapter. But what i said was true. It was because of an insensitive review like that, that caused one of my favorite fictions to be taken off because its author was insulted so strongly.I personally prefer to be called a fucking idiot to my face than for it to be insinuated.
Thanks to everyone who enjoyed this story and reviewed with actual enjoyment. For those of your who like this story I may to a sequel.
Thanks again...
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Dictionary:
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1 (Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu): False Sleep Technique. The same technique Gaara used to allow the Shukaku to take over. Forces the subject to sleep. The kind Sakura uses induces a 'sleeping beauty' state of suspended animation.
2 (Shosen no Jutsu): Heavenly Palm Technique: the basic and omni functional healing technique of all medic ninja.
3 (Nue): Japanese Chimera. Thought to be a sign of misfortune and illness. Was killed in a story by a samurai's arrow.
4 (Angst Position): Sitting with your knees drawn up to your chest and your face buried in your arms.
5 (Kitsune-teme): Bastard Fox.
6 (Shitsume no Kai): Release of Death's Claw.
7 (Sozo Saisei): Genesis Rebirth. Tsunade's ultimate Healing jutsu.