Welcome back everyone to another chapter. You will all be happy to know that I am not dead but rather injured. I developed tendonitis in my arm near my elbow joint and it hurts like hell. But I'm fighting through it to bring you the next chapter. Injured arm be damned, I will give you this next chapter. Onto the chapter in question, this is going to push me beyond 100,000 words because it is a doozy. But I figured that by not giving you an update for a couple of weeks that the least I could do was make up for it and so here is my longest chapter by far.
By the way, thank you all for your continued support and reviews. It means alot to me, really it does. For my first story to have had this much success shows me that maybe I do, indeed, have a future as a writer. I thank each and every single one of you who have read this story so far. As for the contents of this chapter: fluff fans rejoice (although I do apologize for the bit of angst I ended up including in the chapter), drama fans have fun, suspense fans have a blast and action fans be patient - your time will come soon ;)
Chapter Eleven - The Aftermath part two
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With the evening came the setting of the sun, the shadows it cast looming across the ground. Four people sporting the headbands of Konoha had set up a camp and were keeping their eyes peered on the borderline of Fire Country.
These squads were set up everywhere since the great war, the watchful eyes of Konoha's best in stealth and information gathering sent out to mind the borders. The four men at this particular post had been there for the past three days and were going to be there for a few more until their relief arrived. The men were disgruntled, the border they were asked to watch not being one of a very dangerous enemy. On the contrary, Tea Country only had passers-by with items and goods, hoping to find a good market in Konoha or someplace in Fire Country before they would be on their way back to their homes in Tea.
Eating some cooked meat from a couple of animals they hunted down this evening, they were exchanging small talk and humorous tales, trying their best to keep each other amused so that tensions wiouldn't raise. Little did they know that they were being watched.
Before they even had time to register the presence, it was over. A strange gathering of golden feathers sprinkled and floated down on top of them and made them fall asleep. Three figures walked out of the shadows and examined the area they were now in. A grunt came from one individual, wrapped in a strange cloak of red clouds. The reason he appeared strange was the fact that he was on all fours. Where one would guess his head might be was topped with a straw hat with strange jewels hanging from the rim of the hat. "That's what you call 'handling' them? Psh...You should've let me kill them. It would've been too easy."
Another one of the cloaked figures chuckled sinisterly, his straw hat shaking on his head as the man continued his jovial display. Also clothed in a cloak of red clouds, this one seemed infinitely more ominous. "As impatient as always. You seem to forget that we have to deal with this situation carefully. The Yondaime is quite a pesky adversary if you raise his ire. My apprentice did the most reasonable thing."
The 'apprentice' had on a black uniform, just like his companions, but it was not covered with red clouds. Instead, it was a robe, a ceremonial one at that, that had silver edging along the material and odd, complex designs sewn into it with captivating purple threading. Though his head was covered by a hood on the robe, you could see the face of a young man with glasses on his face. He reached up and pushed them further onto the bridge of his nose and smiled confidently. "Thank you, my master. Now, where do we go from here?"
"To find the source of that odd signature." spoke the young man's 'master,' who was the one standing tall and lankishly.
The one on all fours looked up to the lankish one with an incredulous stare. "Do you really think this is one of them?"
"Hmm...whether it is or it isn't waits to be determined. Either way, it is worth a look." Then the man smiled devilishly and licked his lips hungrily.
"Then lead the way." And so the three men took off into the woods as fast as they could, doing everything in their power to conceal their presence as they passed by close to villages and occupied territories.
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Darkness, then light, then faded light into darkness, then new light.
This process repeated itself in the mind of a sleeping individual. This person saw flashes appear briefly in their eyes, even though they weren't open. The sights the person saw aroused strong feelings.
A large man stood with glowing hands and struck the ground. The crack that seemed to hunt down this person and their friend left them in fright. Then the person's friend moved them out of the way. Horror. This person was going to put themselves in harm's way to protect them...again.
'Not this time. This time, I protect you.' The words echoed in the individuals head as they moved the other person out of the way. The last thing this image left in the mind of the person seeing it was someone holding them, cradling them, rocking them, and a desperate voice calling their name.
"HINATA!"
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Her mind was starting to clear up, the cloudiness and heaviness that seemed to be there before was now gone. Where she could only feel the familiarity of her own dream world, she now could tell that she had been unconscious for a while. Everything she tried to will herself to do was with difficulty. Before she tried to open her eyes, her mind did a small diagnosis of her own condition.
There was something attached to her left arm, being a bit uncomfortable. She also felt something wrapped around her head, the pressure being a bit tight and it hurt a bit. Next was a strange sensation coming from her right shoulder. It felt as if it wasn't even there. And it hurt a great deal, the pain being quite intense. She idly wondered how she had stayed unconscious the way she did with this kind of pain. If it was even real.
She had had dreams before where she saw herself get injured or sustain a wound and would then wake up, feeling it. There would be no sign of the injury but the pain could still be felt. She came to the conclusion that the only way for her to know for sure if the pain was real or not would be to open her eyes. She attempted this, and felt a bit queasy when the lids of her eyes seemed to be stuck closed by some sort of gunk. It was the same stuff you would get if you slept for a while, but never before had she had that much on her eyes. 'Just how long was I out?' she questioned herself inwardly. Throwing away some of her thoughts, she began the task of opening her eyes. It may sound like an easy task but it was considerably difficult given her circumstances.
Little did she know was that a particular person next to her was also struggling with the same dilemma. Should he wake up and be bored, while waiting for his friend to awaken? Or should he just go back to sleep and enjoy the chance? Deciding that he wouldn't be able to get back to a deep sleep again, he chose to open his eyes. The familiar 'beep'ing of the heart monitor attached to his roommate brought his attention to focus on her.
"Good morning, Hinata-chan" he said to her out loud, not thinking that she was awake as well as not thinking that it might be considered weird. He had learned that even though people sleep, they can still hear people on the outside sometimes. So using that as his excuse, he shoved away any thoughts of being embarrassed and decided to speak to his friend. Maybe she would hear him and wake up. "Hope you slept good last night." He stretched in his hospital bed, making sure to avoid doing anything with his left arm, unless he liked pain. He then turned to her but she didn't look any different than she did yesterday. So he turned back around and looked up at the ceiling.
She was awake however, and she nearly shrieked in sudden shock and surprise at hearing a voice. But she relaxed when her mind recognized the voice as being Naruto's. Not sure of how to respond to him, she found that she did not have to since he continued speaking.
"I hope you wake up today...it's boring...and strangely enough...quiet without you around." He looked to her and saw that her face was flushed a little, which confused him. He then became aware of an increase in the rate of beeps the heart monitor was emitting. Hoping that she wasn't suddenly getting worse, Naruto warred with himself on whether or not to get a doctor to come in and check on her.
Hinata now found this somewhat enjoyable. Naruto apparently didn't realize that she was awake but was speaking to her as if she were. But after hanging around with him for the amount of time she did, she realized that he wouldn't admit something like that around her. He always teased her on how she was quiet so for him to say it was quiet without her there, it left an amusing image in her head. He was bored, more than anything, and she could just imagine him sitting there with a pout on his face, ready to throw a tantrum.
A conflict then ensued in her head. Should she open her eyes and give him a surprise...or should she continue playing the role of the unconscious friend, with the possible result of him saying something that he might not want to say when she would be awake? What that could be, she didn't know, but some things came to mind, and for some reason they thrilled her.
Whatever had gotten into her, it didn't last. She repeated his words over and over in her head, and she caught onto something. He was sad too, and she didn't like that. If she continued to participate in this game then Naruto would continue to be sad. So with that thought planted in her head, she forced her eyes open. The gunk finally gave out and she was able to see past her lids, but that was a mistake. Her eyes were attacked by the sudden brightness around her. The lights that were on the roof of the place she was in assaulted her vision, her eyes not capable of adjusting to the sudden difference. She had her eyes closed for a good amount of time and therefore, her eyes only saw darkness, even if her mind saw light from her dreams and images. Shutting her eyes closed tightly, she dared herself to open them again but a lot slower this time around. Slowly, the light crept into her vision, stinging her eyes, but she fought through the discomfort, the light becoming more bearable as she opened her eyes more and more. Eventually she got them open fully and darted them around, trying to find the source of the voice. She started to worry that it might have been a hallucination but then she heard a gasp come from her left.
Naruto had stopped wondering if he should get a nurse when the noise from the monitor slowed back down to a more comfortable area and her flushing lightened up and he was now in the process of looking out the window, which was positioned on the wall close to Hinata's right side. Gazing at the brilliance of the morning sky, a peaceful and gorgeous blue with fluffy, marshmallow-like clouds that seemed to flow through each other. He stayed there, watching them, until a sudden movement caught his attention. Looking in the direction, he saw Hinata's eyes open somewhat, and he struggled to catch his breath as a lump got caught in his throat.
"Hi...Hinata-chan?" he asked in a pleading tone, hoping that his eyes hadn't pulled a prank on him. It wouldn't be the first time but then again, that had been something silly. This was far more serious than some damn bowl of delicious ramen that he envisioned when he was really hungry one day.
"Ohayo...Naruto-kun" she said to him in response, her voice a bit quieter than she was used to. Her voice was a bit croaky and her throat was so dry.
Naruto didn't know what to think or do. His nature had him wanting to go over and embrace his best friend but a little thing known as common sense reared it's head, telling the blonde shinobi that it wasn't the right situation for something like that. Both of them were not in the position to receive any kind of physical friendly gestures like hugs and playful horsing around. So Naruto just succumbed to the voice of reason and resolved himself to contain his energy that threatened to burst from the boy in a solidified form and assault anyone in it's exuberant path.
Now gazing at his friend, he was unsure of what to do or say at this point. The waiting game was over and surprisingly fast. He had hoped that she would wake up today but this was early and a bit earlier than he expected. Now that she was awake, a swarm of things confronted his cloudy and confused mind, making him desire to seek clarity. But what should he say? Did he want to ask a question? It hurt his head at this point and he couldn't help but rub his head in aggravation with his one good hand.
Hinata saw in the corner of her allowed vision thanks to the tension in her neck the tell-tale signs of frustration from Naruto. She had to supress a giggle again and chose instead to let a smile creep onto her face, despite the unpleasant and unwelcome pain in her body. Trying her best to ignore it for now in favor of communicating with him, she summoned all the power she held over her voice and tried to make it sound as healthy and normal as was possible for her. Unfortunately, she failed. "Wh-What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" She inwardly winced at the sound of her dry throat, annoyed at how she couldn't produce any saliva to assist her parched mouth and throat.
Naruto heard her scratchy voice ask him the question but he was distracted by something. Not by the question and not by his thoughts, but by the small pitcher of water next to his bed. He reached out with his right arm and began to pour a glass of water but stopped when he saw her gazing at him with strangely wide eyes. He noticed a couple moments later that she wasn't actually staring at him but at the pitcher of water he was holding and started to piece the puzzle together...and almost started to laugh hysterically. The look she was giving him was one of silent and desperate pleading. He could tell that she struggled to speak and if he was correct - even though he wasn't very knowledgeable in the medical field - then Hinata needed something moist right now.
He finished pouring the glass and held it but then turned to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders, which caused Hinata to look at him curiously, he edged his way to the edge of the bed and slung his legs gingerly over the side and carefully stood up. After a few quick moments of him trying to regain his balance - and of a further curious and confused gaze from Hinata - he took cautious steps towards her and offered her his glass.
"N-Naruto-kun?" She didn't want to accept it from him since he apparently started to pour that for himself. Another reason was because she had one good arm from what she could tell, and for some reason her body just didn't want to do much of anything.
She also took the time to notice that Naruto was also in a pretty bad way himself. His left arm was in a sling and wrapped in a cast and his face looked unusually pale and...greasy...as was his hair. She could only guess that she was in a similar state, as far as cleanliness went, and the feeling from her head and right arm didn't give her much hope that she was any better off physically. But now, here was Naruto, looking like he was in poor shape, and he was standing there, no longer attached to any cords or wires that were on his body to begin with - since he decided to discard them rather recklessly when they seemed to hold him back from getting up - and he was offering her a drink.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, you looked like you wanted some water and well...Just drink." He didn't know why he seemed a bit uncomfortable in this situation but he did, and he didn't like it. When she didn't take it and drink, he got a little impatient. "What's wrong?"
"U-Um...I...c-can't" she said, fading out at the end. She hated this feeling, especially after the oath she had made with herself back at the hot springs. But she couldn't help it. Her body, for some reason, was uncooperative.
Naruto heard her, despite how feeble her vocal output had become by this point and wanted to kick himself. He had successfully turned himself into a heel already. "Gomen, gomen, Hinata-chan. I didn't think about that. Here." he said to her as he moved closer to the head of her hospital bed and tipped the glass of water against her dry, eager lips and she drank and swallowed the water with enthusiasm, the loud gulping noises being a bit strange since they were coming from the normally reserved Hyuuga girl.
At this moment, however, she didn't care about that. She just wanted to savor this moment. After she finished the glass, which she smiled happily and thankfully at him, they heard the door open to their room and Naruto almost freaked out when he saw his mother walk through with her jaw dropped in surprise and shock.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what do you think you are doing out of your bed! Lay back down right this instant. You will not push this, you understand me?" She was red in the face, but not with furious anger. It was out of angered worry. What surprised her though was the fact that Naruto actually protested and defended himself.
"But...Hinata needed a drink and she couldn't get one herself so I - " but he was cut off by his mother's heavy, agitated breathing. He gulped and moved as quickly as he could to the bed and sat back down, while his mother came and hooked back up the wires and cords back where they belonged, the machines they belonged to reading off the data it collected.
She was so agitated with Naruto that she didn't realize exactly what he had said until she was done reapplying the wires and cords back on his body. She then turned around and saw the young girl's eyes opened and looking at her in a rather sheepish, shy way. Then it clicked...Hinata was awake.
"Oh, you are awake Hinata-chan. Welcome back. Are you in any discomfort?" She went through the mandatory questions before she went on to the more personal ones she wanted to ask.
"Um...don't be mad at Naruto-kun, okay? He just gave me a drink of water." She then looked back down, the powerful gaze of Collette making her feel powerless right now.
"Hmm...fine." When she said that, she heard Naruto sigh in relief behind her. "But...Naruto, you can't just go around trying to be Mr. Hero." Naruto was about to speak in defense until she cut him off again. "I understand that you did that for Hinata but you shouldn't push yourself and possibly make yourself worse. That's why the nurses are here. Call for one or use the call button." She then took a deep breath and calmed herself. "But that was very nice of you, Naruto." Turning back to Hinata, she continued with her earlier questioning. "Now that that has been cleared up, Hinata, would you be willing to tell me now if you are in any pain?"
It is common for someone who is used to being independent with certain familiar tasks and circumstances to feel even a little shy and embarrassed about asking for assistance. This was Hinata's dilemma at the moment. But she dismissed such feelings in favor of listening to reason. If you were injured and you had a nurse in your room offering help in relieving that pain, you should take it.
"Hai..um...I feel like my body is sore all over and - "
"That's natural, Hinata-chan. You've been out for a while now and you took a pretty rough tumble. Your right arm is useless for the next 3-4 weeks and you suffered a concussion. It's probably the concussion that is making you feel that you are hurting all over. I'll get you some morphine and that should keep you from feeling a great deal of pain, alright?" It was routine to issue someone in as much pain as Hinata was probably in morphine, the pain killer of all pain killers. One would ask why Collette wouldn't simply just use her medical chakra to alleviate the pain but it just wouldn't work like that.
Hinata's mind was trading blows with itself as it struggled in a war. Should she accept the drug and be relieved from the pain she was feeling or should she ask for something lighter that might keep her awake. She was no expert in the medical field but she wasn't a novice either. Long ago, when she had first met Naruto and saw him burn his hands from trying so hard to perform that technique he was taught, she had asked for permission to do some research in the family's library. There, she had found a number of books and scrolls on medical arts, supplies, and abilities. She had learned to make the cream that she gave him with the help of the scrolls and books, but they had also taught her a number of things about medicines. Morphine has a rather drastic drawback of heavy drowsiness, and she did not want that, at least not right now. She wanted to stay awake after being asleep for so long.
"Gomen, but is there anything that won't put me to sleep...that you can use?" Her voice had become quiet again, and was also reserved. She didn't want to be too much trouble for the woman who was taking care of her.
"Well, I would if I could. There are drugs that could work almost as well as morphine without the side effect, but unfortunately, we have no such substance in this medical facility." At seeing the girl's head lower even more, she came up with an idea. "But I could give you the morphine with some amphetamine, if you are sure you want to be awake?" It wasn't that bad of an idea, in her opinion. The morphine would help with the pain and the amphetamine would help with the drowsiness.
"Hai, I am. Arigatou, Collette-sama." Her eyes were back to being focused on Collette's eyes, as she suddenly found them very warm and inviting, instead of overbearing. Collette went off to get the things she needed and said she would be back in a few minutes. Now here they were, left alone again, and the feel of the area suddenly became awkward.
Naruto was trying his best to keep his mind from asking the one question he did want to ask but was afraid to ask. If he did ask the question, things might become weird and awkward. But he couldn't stop himself. He had to know. "Hinata?"
She inwardly winced again, this time from the fact that he hadn't used the suffix she was accustomed to. "Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"
"I-" but he was cut off...yet again - much to his annoyance - by the intrusion of another party. But this person was not who they were expecting.
"Good, you're both awake." Turning to the voice, Naruto saw the familiar face of Sasuke, yet again, there when he was just recovering from sleep. How could one person's timing be that uncanny? "Now I won't have to wait around and be bored."
"Well, I apologize that your teammates are such inconveniences for you, teme." Naruto wanted to go over to him and punch him but he was afraid of his mother and what she might do to him if he got up from the bed again without permission.
Choosing to ignore his blonde teammate, he turned his attention to the indigo-blue-haired Hinata and actually showed concern. "So Hinata, how are you feeling today?"
She was slightly startled by Sasuke's question towards her. She was amused by the way Naruto and Sasuke seemed to not miss a beat. Some would say that the two boys were acting childish but it was just how they acted towards each other. Remembering that Sasuke had asked her a question, she shook away her thoughts and responded. "I'm a bit sore but I think I will be fine." She partially lied on the pain area of her comment. She wasn't a little sore, she was very sore, and was hoping the medicine she was supposed to receive would help. As though Collette heard her thoughts, she walked into the room, gesturing for Sasuke to take a seat in the room while she took care of Hinata and her medication. Injecting the liquid that Hinata guessed was the morphine first into her IV tubes, she then did the same thing with a clear looking liquid. Collette explained that it was water-soluable amphetamine and it wouldn't be as harsh on her body but this was the only time she was doing it. She continued on with her speech about how the body recovered quicker while asleep.
Thanking Collette, she watched as the woman handed Naruto a cup of pills and watched him as he swallowed them down with the help of a glass of water. Collette then told all of them that Arashi, the Hokage, would be making a stop by around noon to make an announcement regarding the mission. Of course, Team Eight would be there too, so she told them to expect more company in a couple of hours. "Also, I know that it is not the most tasty thing in the world but please eat your breakfast." She then turned around and left out the door.
Now left alone, Hinata found the silence that ensued quite awkward and was wondering what could be done. A thought then clicked in her head and she turned her attention to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, weren't you going to tell me something before you were...interrupted." She looked at him a little expectantly, a little desperate for something to curve the weirdness of the silence.
Naruto heard her question and looked at her, then looked at Sasuke very quickly, then back to her and wondered to himself. He didn't want to ask the question while Sasuke was around. He began poking at his bouncy eggs that he thought were scrambled but couldn't tell, trying to find the right way to word this. "Guess I forgot. Sorry Hinata." He then forced some of the eggs into his mouth and cringed at the taste it left. He forced himself to swallow it and almost gagged at that moment. "This stuff is horrible." He muttered in a low voice.
Hinata thought about what Naruto said that he forgot it and decided to drop it. If he couldn't remember, then he couldn't remember. The morning went by like this as they waited for whatever it was the Yondaime had to tell them and team eight. Surprisingly, Sasuke stayed in the room with them the whole time, even though he didn't seem to want to speak much. In Naruto's eyes, however, it meant a great deal for Sasuke to be there. It meant that they truly were a team now. More than that, they were all friends.
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Jiraiya was a bit surprised by what his current task was. He was told, this morning, to go to the home of the Inuzuka's and bring the woman known as Hana to him immediately. He was currently in the process of escorting her to the tower. She kept asking him what this was about but he kept replying with the same answer. "If I knew, I would've already told you." When they arrived, the guards ushered them in and they went to the floor of the Hokage's office. He called for them to enter and they approached his desk. He was unusually unnerved today and his body language showed it. He tapped the head of a pen against his desk in a nervous manner and continued to do so as if the two before him were the ones making him nervous.
He suddenly looked up, seemingly coming out of a daydream and looked at them before something seemed to click in his mind. "Ah yes, Inuzuka Hana, correct?" She nodded. "Good, I have a favor to ask of you. Now, do you have a good supply of ready dogs?" She nodded again. "Good, then I need to ask you for a huge favor for the village. I need four of your fastest dogs to deliver messages to key areas in Wave Country. I need them to track down Kakashi and his group. They should be almost finished and the rest of the job can be finished when I am ready to send more shinobi into the country. But in light of recent events, I am forced to recall all the forces from Wave right now. Do you think your animals can do it?"
"Hai. It is an honor to be trusted with such an important task, Hokage-sama. I assure you, my dogs will not let you down."
Arashi looked at her, judging her, and then got an even better idea. "How would you feel about going with the dogs. Consider it an insurance policy. I do not doubt your canine's abilities but I would much rather have a back-up plan in place, if you catch my drift." She nodded once again and he handed her the notification papers that she would need to hand to Kakashi and his team for the request to be authorized. Everyone healthy enough in Wave Country was supposed to make their way back to Konoha and be back inside the gates by the end of next week. That would give Kakashi enough time to track down all the Konoha shinobi in Wave and give them the notice. This would most likely not sit well with the civilians of Wave but right now, a weakness was more than evident in Fire Country and could be traced to Konoha. Arashi needed to patch up this weakness before it became noticeable to even worse foes.
After being briefed one more time on what her task was, Hana exited the office and made her way back to the house. Once again left in the presence of his pupil, he saw the anxiousness that had built up from the knowledge gained in the past couple of days. Jiraiya could only feel that things were going to get worse. This decision to pull a great number of their forces out of Wave Country could have a backlash effect that could rupture the bond established between the two countries.
Arashi kept thinking about his decision and what it might mean. But he had made up his mind. His village came first. Friendly ties could prove to be essential in the long run but the protection of his people were at the forefront of his agenda. Also, once the forces were back he could send more people out to assist the border patrols and ensure something like this doesn't happen again. Looking up at the wall clock, he saw that it was closing in on noon. Standing up, he grabbed eight documents that had some heavy item attached to them and three smaller, sealed envelopes and set them into a large envelope. At the curious glance from Jiraiya, Arashi just smiled teasingly, as if saying to the man that it was a secret. Telling him he was going to the hospital to give an announcement, Arashi tucked the envelope inside his robes and left the office.
The Yondaime could've simply just used his 'Shunshin' technique to zip over to the hospital, but he wanted to walk. 'The fresh air might do me some good' thought the hokage to himself. As he passed by people on the streets, they all seemed to stare in awe of him, which didn't help to relieve his tension. True he was the leader of the town but he wasn't some holy idol whose mere presence was a blessing. He did his best to smile at the villagers as he passed by, reminding himself that they were all a part of his family. As he saw the hospital come into view, he could only hope that things would return to normal and this whole mess could be forgotten with time. 'Well, here goes.'
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"With the title as a shinobi of the leaf comes a great responsibility. The protection of the village, it's secrets, and it's prestige are expected and anticipated. The ninjas here today have lived up to this responsibility. In the face of grim and dire circumstances that could have threatened the country and it's inhabitants, you have all stood proud and strong, united for a common cause. The teamwork, courage, strength, and bravery that was shown set's a fine example for the future to model after and your village is eternally thankful for your efforts. Congratulations, Shinobi of the Leaf."
Upon the completion of the statement, Arashi looked around the room now full with all of the members of Team's Seven and Eight and smiled at his handiwork. The formal congratulatory statement had all the genin behaving in a nervous and embarrassed manner, some blushing, some looking away and at the floor or walls, some chuckling to themselves, and one particular blonde boy shaking his head in disappointment.
"Could you have said anything cornier, Otou-san?" he questioned him with wide-open sarcasm. The only problem with asking a question like that, in the manner he asked it, is that there is usually an opening for someone else to take advantage of. Naruto saw that look on his father's face and he knew he was going to regret asking that question.
"I looooove you, Naruto, and I'm soooo proud of you." When he finished, Arashi rubbed his eyes as if he were shedding tears.
Naruto felt himself burning red in embarrassment and just hung his head while everyone else enjoyed a good laugh at his expense, even Hinata. He looked at her and mouthed the word 'traitor' at her which caused her to giggle even more. Pushing away his embarrassment at the moment, he chose to pay attention to his father since he was pulling out of his robes a rather large envelope. Opening it up, his father pulled out a sheet of paper that seemed to have a paper weight attached to it and started to look over it carefully. When his father spoke Shino's name, he handed the boy the sheet of paper and proceeded to do this with everyone, including Kurenai and Yamato, and he walked to Naruto's and Hinata's bedsides, delivering the document to them since they were bedridden.
Naruto was still grumbling to himself that he shouldn't be in the stupid bed. It's not like his legs were injured or anything. And he knew full well that the hospital would've already released him upon giving him the cast and he woke up. He was being given special treatment and that was making him fume silently. He wouldn't take it out on his parents but they should know better than to do that. Naruto constantly complained to them that he didn't want special treatment of any kind as he grew up and that was why he always hated those formal gatherings and parties.
Ignoring his frustration in favor of satisfying his curiosity, he took a good look at the document now in his hands. Reading over it carefully, he noticed that what was written on it was basically the same thing as the formal statement his father had given them all. What was intriguing was the fact that on the bottom of the paper was a metallic object that seemed as if it were glued to the piece of paper.
"As you all have probably noticed by now, the object at the bottom is a medal for going beyond the call of duty. You were assigned to a C-rank mission but you all willingly, when the situation became as fierce as it did, confronted your opponent's and therefore, participated in an A-rank mission. Before you all question why it became an A-rank mission by fighting those men, it was because they both were wanted men and notorious for particularly cruel actions against opposing, as well as fellow, shinobi and civilians. This medal is proof of your accomplishment." He looked towards Kurenai and Yamato and understood from their looks that they were surprised by receiving this medal. This just wasn't some reward you get for doing a good job, it was a symbol of heroism in the defense of the entire country. The two jounin, however, thought about the reward and the situation they narrowly avoided, and agreed that maybe the receiving of the medals was just.
"Also, I would like to state that for the next month missions will be cut down. This is for purposes that need not concern you but have to do with the approaching festival. Considering how some of you have received injuries and may be out of service for a while anyway, I am going to go ahead and give you all the month off from missions. With pay, of course." All the genin seemed a bit surprised at this and Arashi took note of that, deciding that a little bit of further divulgance wouldn't hurt. "When you are healthy enough, however, you can continue training and practicing. When the Festival of Fire passes, we will resume taking numerous mission requests and your vacation will be over. So by the end of this month, I expect you all to be back in action, understood?" When they didn't show any negative responses, he nodded his head at the two jounin and then turned to leave, but not before turning his head to where he could see them all and speak to them and speaking one last congratulations to them.
After his exit, all the genin seemed to explode out of giddiness. The pent-up energy that they had been stowing away during the entire speech lifted the spirits of everyone in the room. Yamato smiled and took notice of the envelope that the document's and medal's came in was still in the room, placed on a spare chair. He grabbed it and looked inside and found three envelopes. Removing them from the bigger envelope, he handed one to Kurenai, which was labeled 'To Team Eight' and he started opening the one that was labeled 'To Team Seven.' What was inside of the envelopes was a statement...a bank statement...of a staggering amount. He started to question the Hokage's judgment on the use of the village's funds but then remembered how he said they would be paid for the month off. Both he and Kurenai addressed the group and told them what their pay was and how it was to be split up between the four people in each team, both amounts being the same. Yamato then looked at the final envelope that read 'To Kurenai and Yamato.' Motioning to Kurenai, they told the genin they were leaving the room for a few moments and would be back in a little bit for a little bit of information gathering before they would leave for good and give them their free time.
Everyone's reactions varied upon the jounins' exit. Shino and Sasuke seemed to stay as stoic as they could while Kiba was on the verge of doing back flips, ranting about how much that money was going to help him. Sakura was sitting close to Hinata and decided to try and start a conversation with her while Naruto just watched everyone else, happy that they were all happy. He was happy too but he was happy for another reason. He wasn't the only one who received the medal and his team didn't receive a bigger payment. His father came through for him. Laying back, he found himself surprisingly exhausted all of a sudden. He was about to close his eyes when he heard Yamato and Kurenai walk back in and ask for the bank account numbers of all the genin. After managing to pry that delicate bit of information off of all the genin, their instructors told them they were going to go ahead and split the money up between all of them equally and deposit the money into each person's account. After leaving, Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. Something bad was about to happen, he could just feel it.
"What's all this noise about." spoke a blonde-haired kunoichi who skipped into the room and nearly squealed when she saw Hinata awake. Managing to actually go straight to the girl's bedside without stopping to say hi to Sasuke, she started talking low with Hinata and Sakura, the latter and Ino occasionally giggling while Hinata would get redder and redder.
And where there was Ino, you could almost guarantee that Shikamaru and Chouji followed closely behind. Mainly because Ino threatened to take over their minds and make them dress in women's clothing while burning all their clothes if they wouldn't agree. Shikamaru, when he walked in, looked around lazily, noticed Hinata was awake, and made his way over there, Chouji right next to him. The two friends made their way over to the bedside and Shikamaru continued to prove that he just did not know how to talk to his blonde teammate.
"Why are you over here pestering Hinata while she is in this condition? She doesn't need you - " but he was cut off when he was smashed over the head with Ino's fist. The lump that followed suit was enough to make the boy mutter out something being troublesome while Hinata actually giggled again. "Well, how are you feeling now Hinata?" Everyone seemed to stop doing whatever it was they were doing in favor of paying attention to the action by Hinata's bed.
"I f-feel fine, but I'm still a bit sore." She bit her lip when she finished and looked away from everyone else. It wasn't out of embarrassment but actually it was out of annoyance for having to answer that question so many times today.
"Well, I hope you get better soon that way you can get out of this stuffy building. It's too cramped in here" spoke a nervous Chouji, who apparently had an issue with tight areas.
"You know, if you didn't eat so much, maybe you wouldn't feel cramped in here." Ino's words seemed to strike some sort of a chord in Chouji, since he lifted his brows curiously, but also dangerously, and persued enlightenment.
"What are you inferring, Ino?" asked the boy in a threatening manner. He was calm, nice, cool and collected amidst much animosity, but there was one thing he did not tolerate. And if Ino dared to say that one thing, all hell was going to break loose.
"What I mean is, you are f-" She was so close to saying the taboo word but thankfully for her, Shikamaru put his hand over her mouth. She was about to bite his hand when he pulled her close to him so he could whisper into her ear.
"Don't say what you were about to say, got it? One, Chouji tends to become...active...when someone tells him he is...well, you catch my drift. Two, insulting me and hitting me is one thing but if you insult my friend, you will deal with me, got it?" His words were low so that Chouji wouldn't be able to hear them and held a dangerous tone. His eyes also held that same feeling and Ino suddenly felt herself very regretful for her actions. She had always seen Shikamaru as a lazy boy that didn't seem to care about anything. The fact that he was willing to protect one of his friends surprised her and made her respect him. She was shocked to say the least. Two days in a row, Shikamaru had surprised her. When he let go of her mouth and allowed her to move away, everyone seemed to brace for an explosion, waiting to see the blonde's notorious temper in action, but it didn't happen. She instead turned to Chouji and surprised the entire room. "Sorry Chouji, I didn't mean anything by it, okay? I just tend to get a little hot-headed too easily. I'll try to get better at that." Then she flashed a truly genuine smile and sported it as she looked at Shikamaru and then stuck her tongue out at him. This resulted in a confused look from the Nara boy and burst of laughter from the room.
"Glad things seem to be getting back to normal...or as normal as they can be. On that subject, Hinata, have you suffered from the same effects as Naruto?" Chouji's question gained the spotlight from just about everyone there. Hinata looked confused as well since she didn't know what he was talking about. Shikamaru saw this too, body language being one of the easier things for him to tell about an individual.
"What he means, Hinata, is do you remember all of the things that happened on the mission before you were knocked unconscious. Just curious, since Naruto seemed to not be able to recall what happened after you were knocked unconscious."
Hinata darted her eyes from Shikamaru to Chouji to Sasuke to Naruto then back again, not sure of what she heard. "Ano, Naruto couldn't remember anything after I fell unconscious?" When Shikamaru nodded, she looked to Naruto for clarity. He nodded too but didn't speak. "W-What happened then?"
Sakura's jaw almost hit the floor and she got really upset all of a sudden. "You mean to tell me that you two (she said pointing at Sasuke and Naruto) have been in this room for so long and didn't tell her what happened?" When Naruto hung his head ashamedly and Sasuke seemed to avert his gaze away from Sakura's accusatory look, she put on the most mischievious of grins. Naruto felt that feeling again as his neck hairs stood up and could've sworn he felt a cold shiver shoot through his spine as if the cold hand of doom had swept over him.
Sakura then proceeded to divulge the details of what took place after Hinata fell unconscious, much to the chagrin of Naruto. As each sentence ended, he felt himself becoming more and more embarrassed as Sakura over-exaggerated his defense of Hinata. The peak of the moment and the height of his humiliation occurred when she repeated, word for word, what was said between Garrett and Naruto, from the question of where the strength was coming from, to Naruto's explanation. The blonde boy wanted nothing more than to be a turtle at this moment so he could hide inside a shell and away from everyone. He dared himself to look in the direction of Hinata and regretted it. Immediately he saw the effects and was horrified by what they could possibly mean.
Hinata was redder than she had ever been. Her blushing had been taken as just being Hinata and therefore Naruto found himself able to tolerate it. But this shade of red was borderline cherry. She seemed to shrink into the covers of the bed as well. Her mouth was quivering as though she wanted to say something but she couldn't find the strength to do so. Finally, her voice was heard and it was directed to everyone, but Naruto felt that it was intended for him. "N-N-Naruto-kun s-said that?"
Naruto didn't know what he should say. In one part of his mind, he knew that logically he shouldn't know so it shouldn't bother him so much if he couldn't remember it. On the other side of the argument, there was this voice inside of him that seemed to be confirming it. Naruto knew it by that point that it was true and he had no choice but to accept it. Whether or not he should confirm it for the indigo-haired girl was dashed as Ino seemed to burst like a giddy school girl. She squealed 'kawaii,' which caused Naruto to blush out of embarrassment again, which in turn caused Kiba to fall over in laughter. "Oh my god, this is rich. I'm gonna get a lot of mileage off this." He continued to snicker even as he received stares from Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto.
"I think it shows a noble side to Naruto, not something we should laugh at" defended Ino, holding her head up high in mock arrogance. Naruto rolled his eyes, only to have them threaten to pop out when Shino decided to join the conversation.
"No matter how 'amusing' one might think his statement was, what did happen cannot be taken away from him." The boy then turned his head so that it looked like he was looking straight at Naruto. "You should not be ashamed of your actions, Naruto. You defended your fellow teammate and friend and nothing more could be asked out of you." When he finished, Shino turned to look at Kiba. Even though you couldn't see Shino's eyes or mouth, you could just tell that he was not pleased with Kiba's almost childish antics.
Naruto felt relieved after the words. Everyone seemed to be either registering Shino's words or were paying attention to the new attitude being emitted from the bug user. When Shino looked his way finally, Naruto mouthed a 'thank you' with a nod from the bug-user in reply and the boy stood up. Since he and Kiba were not that injured, they were gonna go spar. They invited Sakura but she said her ribs were still a good bit tender so they left with a courteous good-bye. Ino invited Sakura to come by the flower shop if she wanted to and invited Sasuke to do the same, who passed on that opportunity eagerly. Frowning a little, the two girls got up and left but not without bidding their own farewell. That left the two hospitalized shinobi with Shikamaru and Chouji, who had been their friends for a good while, and Sasuke, the teammate and quickly-developing friend. Naruto couldn't help but feel that it was strangely curious that the room would clear out that fast.
The truth was, everyone else felt that some space might be necessary. An awkward aura lingered in the air after Sakura's perpetual teasing and even though Shino's words assisted in the relief of some of the tension, it did not get rid of it all. As Sakura left down the hall towards the elevator, she silently hoped that her use of the speech Naruto had given would not have ill effects on the relationship between the two.
Shikamaru hummed to himself, not sure what to say. The only real noise being made in the room itself was the heart monitor and Chouji's bag of potato chips, which he offered to Naruto, who eagerly accepted, grabbing a handful. While they finished the bag, Shikamaru, who was a close friend to Hinata as well as Naruto, decided to shake the girl out of her thoughts. Hinata had, while everyone was leaving, been thinking deeply and hard about a lot of things and asking herself a lot of questions. When she heard Shikamaru talking to her she snapped her attention back to reality.
"There we go. Now that I have your attention, I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the drama show you were forced to endure. Our team...has it's quirks still, but we're trying to not kill each other."
"Oh, it's okay, Shikamaru-kun. You all didn't bother me."
"Yeah I know. Ino's pink-haired friend did. I haven't known Naruto as long as you, but I have known him long enough to know it is best to confront him if you want to know something...and be persistent about it. In the meantime, I'm gonna go ahead and leave you guys alone." Hinata looked a little taken back but didn't get a chance to edge in her opinion as the boy stood up and told Chouji he was leaving. Shikamaru then looked to Sasuke, who looked back at him, and they seemed to share a silent conversation. After a few moments, Sasuke closed his eyes to ponder something then opened his eyes and stood up.
"I'm gonna go ahead and leave as well." He looked at both Naruto and Hinata, who seemed a bit surprised - Naruto actually feeling that he was being abandoned - and looked to Shikamaru, who smirked and nodded at Sasuke. As he and Chouji left, Sasuke lingered a bit longer and turned to look at Naruto. Then the boy walked to the area of the hospital room that had a designated closet for personal belongings and blankets and such, and he opened the door to the area and reached into it, grabbing and revealing Naruto's windbreaker. Naruto, himself, was a bit curious as to what he was doing, until Sasuke reached into one of the pockets and revealed a scroll...his father's scroll. "Sorry, but yesterday while you two were both still asleep, I felt an odd chakra signature coming from within your jacket and this was the source. I couldn't open it to save my life and couldn't make it stop pulsing so here you go" he said tossing the scroll to Naruto before putting the windbreaker back into the closet.
"Oh..uh...thanks. Guess I'll see ya tomorrow then." Sasuke said he would and then left, the room feeling suddenly empty, despite the fact it wasn't. Naruto would've turned his attention to his only roommate when the scroll in his hands started to pulse rather violently, the ricocheting vibrations from the chakra being emitted from the parchment going through his hands and up his arms. He put a finger on the seal and sent a little of his chakra through the design, it lighting up and then bursting open, much to the surprise of Hinata, who was leaning over the side of her bed to get a better look. "You know, Hinata, curiosity may not have killed the cat, but it could get it hurt." He chuckled when she 'eep'ed and moved to be laying safely in the middle of the bed.
His statement was not meant as a threat. Since only he could read the scroll, her attempt at seeing what was on it was futile. As for the contents, well, if he didn't have any energy built up from staying confined to the bed and hospital room, he sure as hell had some now. The scroll now consisted of not only the first technique, which was the 'siphon' jutsu he had mastered, but also four new techniques that were surprisingly complex. It only took him a couple of minutes to quickly read over them, but the descriptions that followed the listing of the handseals required gave off an impression that these were techniques that were meant for the advanced and skilled of shinobi. He remembered his father telling him that the scroll was designed in a special way so that it would react to his presence. If he could only see one technique before this mission began and he could now see five, did that mean he had grown that strong? Maybe he would ask his father for his opinion before making any assumptions.
He looked over to his roommate and found himself somewhat content with the situation. No longer was that awkwardness hanging in the air and he probably knew what the reason for that was anyway. Whether or not he thought of Sakura as a friend does not take away from the fact that Naruto was thoroughly frustrated with her. He was one of those people who thought that people deserved a second chance to prove that they were not as they appeared.
In the academy, Sakura and Ino were friends with each other but they always seemed to fight and argue with each other. The reason...Sasuke. They both wanted the attention of the young Uchiha and kept making vows of undying loyalty to the 'love of their life.' The pink-haired girl had said at one point that she felt that her and Sasuke were soulmates. Naruto wanted to laugh at the childishness.
She was a complete fool if she believed that. Not because Naruto didn't think it wouldn't happen (even though he did think it was very improbable) but it was the sheer fact that she felt she had found her soulmate when she was still in the academy. Her enthusiasm was contagious, as well as amusing, but it could be hoped that she wouldn't try to pass on her views onto other people. Whatever gave her the inkling that she should just go out of her way to embarrass him and Hinata with that little display was not really welcome. Hell, he still couldn't confidently guarantee that he said those words in actuality. Hell, he didn't know why it was such a big deal - not just with Sakura and Ino (and even Kiba, who decided to get a gool laugh out of it) but also with him and Hinata.
Was she not his friend? Was she not his best friend? Was he not her friend? The answers to those questions was an emphatic positive. He would hope they were as close as siblings and that whatever he did he was doing what any other brother would do for their sister. He was so deep into his own thoughts that he did not register his mother entering the room to perform a check-up.
Collette started by double-checking the data from the monitors and comparing it to the data she recorded earlier today. Then she checked on Hinata's pain level. When the girl said she was starting to feel more and more of the pain, Collette told her she was going to give her something for the pain. Turning around, she then checked on his pain level. Naruto said he was doing fine with his pain and told her that he would be okay. Of course, this was just bravado and she knew it, informing him he would take his medication, as would Hinata take her's. She dismissed the complaint Hinata gave about wanting to stay awake, telling her she would take her medicine and get the rest she needed. She then turned around and left the room to get the supplies.
Hinata was a little upset at how Collette wouldn't grant her the favor of letting her stay awake. She really wanted to stay up and talk with Naruto but now with the nurse leaving to get the medicine, Hinata struggled with herself, fighting through any insecurities to try and tell Naruto exactly what she wanted to say. With limited time, she pushed aside any bashfullness or anything of the sort in favor of getting this off her mind. Looking at the boy, she became thankful for the fact that the strain that had been on her neck seemed to have loosened and gave her some relief. When she did get a good look at him, she saw him fidgeting with the edges of the scroll he had been looking at and thought, at first, that maybe she should leave him be since he seemed back to being deep in thought. But she knew if she didn't say this then it would plague her mind as she would sleep restlessly, even if it would be a forced rest. 'Okay Hinata, here you go.' "Naruto-kun?"
Though it was very quiet, he still managed to hear the soft voice of his friend call to him. It even surprised him that he managed to register that she said anything since he was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't realize he spaced out. Looking towards the source of the voice, he saw her looking at him but then avert her gaze away from locking eyes with him. She instead looked at the corner of his bed and began blushing slightly. He noticed that this trend of behavior usually came when she wanted to say something meaningful or important...that might be out of character. She would get this way in the academy when Iruka would call on her to answer a question out loud to the class. Taking careful note of this, he pushed his thoughts away in favor of paying more attention to her. "Yes Hinata-chan?"
She smiled a bit more and dropped her head but not in the usual way she would. She did it to hide the fact that she was smiling and blushing even more, happy over something as silly as a suffix. But him using the friendly suffix again made her happy and gave her confidence that what she was about to say needed to be said. "Th-thank you."
Curious would not describe it right now. No, he was confused, and if she were to look in his eyes she would probably see it. He wanted her to explain but she was never one to just talk unless given prodding. So he pushed...desiring answers. "Um...okay, but for what?"
"Well...for defending me...and...for what you said about me." She then pursed her lip, waiting for a response but not wanting to look him in the eyes.
"Well...you're welcome...I guess...but you know, I don't remember any of that so -" but he was cut off...yet again. He would've been irate after the umpteenth time from getting his sentences cut off in the past couple of days, but he bit his tongue and was actually a bit surprised by the fact that it was none other than the restrained, refrained, and quiet Hinata.
"You did not deny it either" she said looking up daringly, surprising herself with her sudden boldness.
Naruto was a bit stunned with her words. She was right. Through the entire retelling of the events, through all the embarrassing details, he had not tried to deny it. He never attempted. He started to ask himself why but then he responded to his question with another one. Why would he try to deny it? He didn't build up a reputation of being a person who didn't show emotion, though he was less expressive than others like Kiba and Sakura and Ino. He didn't have a reputation to uphold as the cold bastard of the ninja class. He was just Uzumaki Naruto. "You're right, I didn't deny it, did I?" He locked his gaze with her and smiled oddly, feeling a strangeness in doing so but it was a good kind of strange.
Hinata's eyes began to water and she felt it building up. She turned her gaze away from him so he wouldn't see and carefully brought her good hand uup to wipe at her eyes. She was so happy and she wondered if he understood how happy she was just knowing that he didn't want to deny the words that Sakura had told them Naruto said. She was important to him, someone so special that she was a piece of him. She had always seen Naruto as someone she could relate to, as someone she could talk to. But now he was more than that. He was someone she could confide in, he was someone she could relax around, he was someone who she could call friend. That was how she felt and she knew she at least had to be a friend to him in order for him to be around her as long as he had...but now she knew where she stood.
"Hey, Hinata-chan...anything wrong?" He saw her duck her head the way she did and then wipe at her face. Was she tired or in pain or crying? He didn't know but he didn't like the thought of the latter.
"N-No, Naruto-kun," she said while managing to hold onto her voice. "I'm fine." She then looked up and smiled at him, causing him to smile back.
"Hey, Hinata-chan?" When she 'hmm'ed in response, he felt himself getting angry over what he was about to do, but he knew he couldn't avoid asking her. It was eating at him and he had to know. "Hinata, why?"
She was honestly lost. What did he mean? What could be mean? Was he still asking about why she thanked him? Not wanting to answer and possibly sound like an idiot, she answered him with a question of her own. "Ano, what do you mean, Naruto-kun?"
"I mean...why did you get in the way?" He turned unexpectedly angry eyes on her, which had her draw back slightly. "You know, you wouldn't have been this hurt if you didn't move yourself in the way, so why did you do it? It hurt me so much when I saw you take the brunt of the blow because I wasn't able to do anything about it." She looked at him like she was hurt when it was him who should look and feel that way, and that only got him angrier. "You know why I became a ninja, Hinata? It wasn't just so I could get outside of my family's house or to become strong or because I was bored and suddenly decided on a whim to be a ninja because it might be fun. It was to learn what my father had learned. My father preached that a true shinobi is one who protects those around them." He was now shaking and his eyes were lowered so he wasn't looking into her, now hurt, eyes. "But I couldn't protect you. Instead...you moved yourself into the situation. Why? I never want to see my friends get hurt but you just...you...WHY?" The question came out a bit harsher than he meant for it to and he wanted to apologize for it, but he couldn't seem to find the desire to do so. It was something within him that had fractured when he saw those eyes of her's that day, the eyes that seemed to say 'Don't help me.' When he still hadn't got a response, he looked up to find something that he hadn't expected.
Instead of finding her struggling for an answer, instead of her looking taken aback, instead of her being nervous, he saw her hurt. Her eyes were watering and he regretted his decision to pursue this. He hated himself. Why was he so damn stupid to just approach the situation like that? But instead of her crying or her staying silent, she spoke up and surprised him yet again.
"Naruto-k-kun. That's not fair."
He looked at her a bit surprised and confused while she continued. "It's not fair that you...you tell me you become a sh-shinobi to protect your fr-friends...and expect me to not d-do the same thing." His mouth hung open as she kept going, not realizing how stupid he must've sounded, his reasoning sounding so dumb in the face of her reasoning. "I am a k-kunoichi as well and I saw you, as you had so many times as we grew up, step in to try and shield me and I...I just wanted to...for once...return the favor." The tears were now slowly falling out of her eyes and it pained him to know he had been the cause of those tears. But she didn't stop and Naruto guessed she couldn't stop. This seemed like it was bottled up and Naruto was letting her, for once, control the conversation. "I wanted to prove...that I had changed...that I was stronger...that I could defend myself...and when that time came...I wanted to protect you. I'm sorry if I made you w-worry, Naruto. But it's not fair...to say you don't want to see your friends get hurt...and not expect them...to do the same thing." She was on the verge of hiccuping by now and Naruto had had enough. He had caused this display and he was doing nothing to rectify the situation. While words seemed to fail him, his instincts kicked in and he did the only thing he thought of.
Cradling his left arm, he moved to the edge of the bed like he did this morning but this time he pulled the I.V. out of his arm, wincing a little at the unpleasant feeling it left in it's wake. He stood up gingerly and moved to the bed where his best friend lay and carefully felt for a place to sit comfortably. That spot ended up being on the other side of the bed, which he crawled onto and scooted to be closer to her. Normally this would be thought of as unusual and rather strange but to Naruto...it felt natural. He reached for the girl's good shoulder, not forgetting that the right shoulder was very injured, and gently squeezed, earning a sharp intake of breath.
Startled beyond belief, she realized that she had allowed herself to lose track of Naruto and that now, for some unexplainable reason, he was in the same bed as her. She would've complained, mainly because she did not want him to get in trouble with his mother, but also because right now, she was a bit flustered at him. But when he gently pulled her towards him, she let go of the tension and eased up, letting herself be pulled into a one-armed embrace. She blushed lightly as she felt Naruto pull her head to rest into his good shoulder. This was weird and different but it was strangely welcome. When Naruto spoke, it was low, since he was right next to her ears.
"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I just...find myself wanting...more and more...to hold onto the things I've gained so desperately that I am scared of losing them. So I make up for that fear with a constant desire and mantra that I live by. I am a shinobi to protect my friends and family and will do just that with every ounce of my power, if required. So when I saw you get hurt when I could've done something to prevent it, I just felt miserable. I never want to see you hurt and when I saw you hit the ground the way you did, I just felt horrible. My memory is scattered from there, but I know, for sure, that I felt weaker then than I ever had. You are my best friend and I felt that I had lost you...I'm sorry for losing it just now, I didn't mean any disrespect towards you or to offend you." She felt herself hang onto every word as they crawled in the recesses of her memory and forge a permanent spot for this moment. She luckily was able to breath and swallow while he spoke, finding it quite difficult as each word sunk in. "You are strong, Hinata-chan, and I want you to know that I am thankful."
She smiled brightly and managed to stop any more tears from flooding her eyes. She was happy, and very content at the moment. She found herself surprisingly at ease in this position, Naruto (a boy) being in the same bed as her and holding her, but it wasn't weird. She was relaxed, so very relaxed.
"Hinata-chan, I don't think I've ever said this but...thank you." When he didn't hear her respond, he moved his position so that he could see her face slightly and saw her eyes closed. 'She fell asleep huh? Oh well, Mom'll be pissed but...' and so Naruto moved and positioned himself so that he was laying close to the head of the bed and rested his back against the wall, an astounding amount of pillows being placed there for cushioning support, not feeling even slightly embarrassed for how this might look. For some reason, now that he had gotten that load off his mind and found Hinata's reasoning suitable, he was pretty tired. His eyelids became heavy and he let them close, not aware of the presence(s) outside the room that had snuck a peak at them.
In truth, two eavesdroppers had witnessed the whole scene unfold, cracking the door open slightly and managing to keep themselves unnoticed. Without their meddling, they saw Naruto and Hinata have one hell of an argument, one you wouldn't expect to happen between the two of them and it surprised the two spectators. You see, the two eavesdroppers were none other than Sakura and Ino, the blonde-haired girl proposing the idea to bring them flowers. Sakura agreed and so they came but when they were right outside the door, they heard the voice of Hinata, soft and quiet, as she said she was thankful for Naruto's actions. Then when the escalation ensued, they carefully cracked the door open to view the action. They were slightly outraged by Naruto's outburst, Sakura more than Ino because of the fact that Sakura knew why Hinata had done it. After the voices stopped, they started to peek in and saw Naruto getting off the bed, but that was when they heard a voice outside the door asking their business.
Collette had been held up by one of the newer nurses needing assistance and she was quite flustered that she could not bring the medication to her son and Hinata. So when she walked to their room and saw the spying blonde and pink haired girls, she began to let them feel her ire but quickly calmed down upon hearing they were there just bring flowers. Sakura had brought, of course, a Sakura blossom for Hinata and Naruto, while Ino brought a yellow rose for each of them - the yellow rose symbolizing eternal friendship. A bit upset that they asked her to be quiet and wait just a few moments, she started to lose her patience. But when Sakura pleaded with her and saw the odd look on the face of the girl, she complied. She didn't know why she caved but something about the look on the girl's face said that it was important that they stay out of the room. Being told in a whisper by Ino, Collette learned that Naruto and Hinata had some kind of quarrel and were in the process of making amends but after a few moments and the girls looked into the room, they both covered their mouths and Sakura squealed behind her hand about something being 'kawaii.' She had had enough of their childishness and walked in, only to see something rather unexpected. Her son and Hinata, asleep together.
While she was mad - very mad - with the fact that Naruto had once again gotten out of his bed, she just couldn't bring herself to break up this situation. This was unorthodox for her, to do what she was about to do, but she chose to ignore the violation of hospital conduct and leave them be. "Come on in girls and quietly put your flowers on the table there." She pointed to a table that stood close to the window and the girls shuffled into the room, afraid of making any noise that might ruin the moment. When they left the room, Collette left with them and unexplainably decided to put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign. Two times today, Uzumaki Collette bent the rules and she didn't regret the decisions. 'Arashi, you are rubbing off on me.'
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In a particularly decimated section of a forest, the evidence of a tremendous battle lay strewn across the ground. The debris and remnants eerie reminders of a ferocious battle. To the untrained eye, things would appear to be back to normal, at least as normal as it could get in a battlefield. But, the trained eye would be able to pick up that their was a definite disturbance still in the area. Something wasn't right.
On one patch of dirt, the earth looked as it should be. But if you looked closer, you could tell there was something wrong with this area. The ground was decaying and rotting and appeared ready to give way under the power of something that could not be seen. Suddenly, the ground crumbled and broke apart, as a shaky hand reached out and gripped the earth.
Pulling up, the big, hulking form of the thought-to-be-dead Garrett made his way out of his earthy grave. The attack that had taken him into the ground had been harsh and deadly but he had survived again. Inexplicably, every time he would encounter the rare foe that would push him to the brink and then some, he would not die. Something outside of his control always happened and he would wake up later, miraculously alive. Even more strange was the fact that he never seemed to show any signs that he had been injured. So was the case this day too.
While his mind still remembered the awesome pain he had encountered when those roots with those massive thorns plunged deep into his skin and drug him into the ground, he did not have a scar on him. He growled in frustration, his rage increasing, only to be startled and have his anger peak by the sudden appearance of three very arrogant figures.
"Huhuhuhuhu, well, well, well. It seems I was just a bit off but you are definitely worthy of my interest." This person was on the verge of feeling every single bit of his strength, which was fully restored.
"Who the hell are you, huh? State your business before I decide to break you in two."
The one who was on all fours cast a curious glance from Garrett to his partner. "Are you telling me this individual has an oni sealed inside of him? I don't even feel any youkai."
Garrett suddenly became confused and curious as well. "What the fuck do you mean? And don't ignore me either."
The annoying chuckle from the taller individual sounded through the forest and gave Garrett the creeps. "My friend, are you not aware? Interesting, you use it's power but you seem to do so unconsciously. You must be the first that fool used." Garrett was getting more and more pissed with each passing moment as this arrogant ass just continued to bombard him with riddles.
"What the fuck do you mean, you asshole. Tell me now or so help me god - "
"You, my friend, cannot hope to defeat us." Before the brute of a man could continue, the tall individual continued to speak. "By yourself that is. But what if I told you you had a power inside of you, a power you have the chance to control and use. You could get revenge for what happened to you with that power." Garrett thought about what he said, now being intrigued by the man's proposition. "Join me and my apprentice and learn to use your sleeping power. You are strong...but you could be so much stronger. What do you say?"
"Stronger eh? You ain't bullshitting me, are you?" When the man shook his head, he looked down at the ground and then back up. "Sure, I'll come. But what exactly do you mean by 'oni' and that I'm the 'first?' What is all that supposed to mean, hmm?"
"For you, my new comrade, I shall enlighten you to the truth of who you are, Garrett 'Stonebear' or should I say, Onyx Minotaur."
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Whew, another long one for you. And now, more questions arise. One question that must be asked is who are the cloaked individuals (you should know who they are) and what do they want with Garrett? Is he really a Jinchurriki? Or is he something else entirely? And why would this particular individual want to help him gain this strength?
Another question that has to be asked is...is the amount of fluff I ended up putting into this chapter legal? I don't know if it should be considered a crime or not. Hows about letting me know? Reviews are welcome, as are any constructive comments. As for the next chapter: With the approach of the Festival, the village of Konoha deals with the bustling excitement and incoming visitors. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata are released and things begin getting back to normal and the return of Kakashi and his team brings along new information and startling revelations. And what is going on with the cloaked individuals and what do they want with Garrett? What role does he play with their plan? Only one way to find out. Come back next time.