"Every moment I spend with you, I find it harder to live another one without you." ~ Naruto
Shino entered the infirmary with his usual degree of nonchalance and complacency, only to almost be bowled over by a rushing medic-nin who ran from the room. Looking around, he immediately spotted his teammate and sensei, not that it was difficult with Kiba making such a scene.
"Come on man, tell us something!" Kiba yelled at a medic-nin who ignored the shouting Inuzuka except to gesture towards a sign that read, 'Those found disturbing patients and staff will be removed!', and Kiba growled, turning to sit on the bench on the opposite wall.
"Why won't they tell us something, Kurenai-sensei, that can't be a good sign?" The Inuzuka heir lamented, leaning on his knees as he stared at the floor. Akamaru nuzzled deeper into his coat, whimpering softly as Shino took a seat beside his male teammate, their sensei on the other side.
The trio sat in silence for another 10 minutes until the curtain opened to reveal Sakura laying in bed, as still as death. Kiba leapt to his feet, rushing to the side of the bed, reaching towards Sakura only to pause with his hand above her's.
"No, she can't be…" Kiba trailed off as he took a step back, swiping at his eyes as he saw his vision blurring as the moisture began to gather. "She smells like ammonia, and a lot of morphine." Kiba mumbled under his breath, Akamaru crawling out, leaping onto the bed to nose at Sakura's still hand. She didn't react.
"We had to heavily sedate her. She was moving too much, and we could see was in a lot of pain. As for the ammonia, I'll leave that up to our resident psychoanalyst; ah, here he is now." The medic-nin said, pointing towards an approaching middle-aged man who had the telltale platinum blonde hair of the Yamanaka. Without a word, he strode passed Kiba, pausing only to ask, "Is she prepped?" Receiving an affirmative nod, he softly placed both hands on either side of the pinkette's head, his body slumping back into a seat.
"It should only take about 30 minutes for him to finish up, so in the mean time, follow me and we'll get you fixed up." The medic-nin said, gesturing for Shino to follow her to an open bed, which was conveniently right next to Sakura's one.
With a quick set of hand seals, the medic-nin's hands began to glow green as she ran them over Shino's body, her lips tightening at times. "Okay, well first of all, it's difficult for me to diagnose anything because your bugs are interfering but since I can't find any bleeding, there isn't much I can do other than recommend bed rest." She said; turning to leave as Shino nodded silently. Kurenai sighed in relief that at least only one of her students was severely hurt. With that, the trio fell silent once more, watching the Yamanaka do his job, awaiting the verdict.
Meanwhile, in the Kage box, Orochimaru was using his considerable self-control not to outright throw a tantrum right there. This put a serious dent in the invasion plan, although Gaara was much more likely to assist the Leaf now, it was of little consequence since the Shukaku was defeated and couldn't be turned on the invasion force. You had to enjoy the small pleasures in life.
"Hmm, this year's stock is much more outstanding than usually." The disguised Sannin commented offhand, and Hiruzen chuckled light-heartedly.
"True, but what can you expect. Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru are all heirs to prominent Konoha clans. All three of your children are finalists, although we only got really see your youngest one's skill. Finally, Naruto-kun graduated with honors from the Shinobi Academy." The Third said happily, his arms concealed within his voluminous sleeves.
Orochimaru's eyes widened, "But from what I've heard, no one has done that since Itachi Uchiha? How is he still a Genin if that were true?" The Snake questioned his sensei, who shot a knowing smirk at his erstwhile student.
"The same way your son made such a good showing when he's the youngest one." Sarutobi commented offhandedly. "Speaking of, if I didn't know better, I'd say you planned on Gaara losing control here in the middle of my village." The wizened Third may be on his second term, but he could still intimidate the Snake Sannin when it came down to it.
Deciding to change the subject, Orochimaru leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, preventing his former sensei from seeing the small green snake that slithered down his leg, and through a crack in the wall, heading for Kabuto, who was still hiding in the crowd two levels below. "Speaking of losing control, I don't know how the blonde can keep going, even with an hour break to recuperate. He faced not only a prodigy of the Hyuuga, but my son and his bijuu. And in the next round he'll have to face both the Uchiha heir and the Hyuuga heiress." The man said with a confident smirk.
"Oh, I wouldn't count young Naruto-kun out yet. As I said, he did graduate with honors, and he's not been sitting around on his laurels. I've even overseen some of his training, as has my strongest student, Jiraiya, and I can say, Naruto hasn't even hit his peak yet. It is worrisome how old not just him, but all these young ones make me feel, running around and fighting with so much vigor." Sarutobi said, sighing as he began to ramble, Orochimaru sweat dropping as he recalled how long his sensei could ramble aimlessly.
"I find it hard to believe what Sarutobi-sensei is saying, but if he's right then maybe I can make this work for me. Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun will fight in the Finals, and tire each other out. If Naruto wins, then I can just start the invasion and make my escape with Sasuke's body, and if Sasuke wins, I'll just mark Naruto for safe keeping." The traitorous Sannin thought with masked glee.
Naruto groaned as he sat up, rolling his shoulder as it popped. With a wide yawn, he blinked his eyes several times, holding his head as he felt the splitting headache take hold. Reaching into his coat he pulled out his small book, opening to the marked page.
"I feel like this is a bit dishonorable, but we're shinobi, not samurai. Now I just have to make sure I can manage this." The blonde thought, walking to the side, make a quick set of seven seals and placing his hand on the stone wall around the arena. Reaching behind him, he held his neck as he rolled his neck, feeling his plan take hold.
"It's just like the history books said. The Fourth designed this arena to function like a sealing scroll, combined with an absorption seal, allowing shinobi to fight to their content inside. But it wasn't set up properly to absorb lingering chakra as easily. It probably would if it was left lingering for long enough, but I need the strength." Naruto thought as he felt the foreign chakra enter the base of his brain stem, mixing into his chakra pathways as it was redirected through his seal, converting Shukaku's lingering youki into usable chakra.
"It's not much, but at least I should be able to match with a Jounin or two. Or at least get rid of these pesky twinges." He said with a small bit of irritation as he felt a small heat pass over his body as his numerous cuts healed, his sore muscles relaxing as he smirked, before frowning at the notable drop in his chakra.
"Looks like that uses more than I thought. Well, it should be enough for what I need." He said, wandering off.
Simultaneously, Hinata could be found meditating as she tried to come up with a way to stall Sasuke in the Finals long enough for Naruto to come up with his own ridiculous plan. Honestly, she wished Naruto would come up with a more 'secure' plan, but she also cared for him too much to push it.
Breathing softly, she felt the presence sit down beside her, smiling demurely as Naruto nudged her.
"Hey you." He said happily, and Hinata responded with a quiet, "It's me." Naruto gave off a soft chuckle, leaning forwards on his knees, closing his eyes as he reached over to hold Hinata's hand. The bluenette smiled, interlacing her fingers with him.
"You ready for this?" He asked, his hair blowing in the breeze.
"No, I'm worried that something is going to go wrong down there and you'll get hurt." She answered without a thought as Naruto sighed.
"I'm not what will be important when we get on that floor. If it comes down to it, I want you to be safe. No take lethal hits for me." The blonde said, barely opening his eyes as Hinata leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Yes, because you won't do the same. You know we have to go into that fight together or Sasuke will not only beat us, but most likely aim to maim, and I like you without anymore scars." Hinata pointed out, the blonde slumping lower as he leaned back, looking up into the sun.
"So you've been sneaking peeks at me. Oh dear, the prestigious heiress of the Hyuuga was looking at my impure body. Have you no propriety?" Naruto teased, and Hinata blushed while pouting before shoving Naruto, who pushed her back with a smile. He expected her to leave it at that, but suddenly she hit him, knocking both of them over, Hinata on top, straddling Naruto's waist.
Both gulped loudly, gazing deeply into the other's eyes, "Naruto-kun/ Hinata-chan." They said together. A single strand of the Hyuuga's hair fell loose, and Naruto reached up to lightly brush it away, touching her cheek with his calloused knuckles. Bending up as she bent down, their lips were inches apart with no signs of stopping when…
"Hyuuga-san." A female voice called out, the young couple leaping apart, faces aflame as Hinata muttered an 'eep'. Both saw the approaching form of Nerissa distinguishable only by the numerous bandages wrapper around her body.
"Hello, Nerissa-san, where is your sister?" Hinata questioned and Nerissa smiled sheepishly.
"I asked her to get me a cup of water, and while she was gone I made a run for it." Her confession was met with a giggle by Hinata; beside her, Naruto smiled genially, holding up a welcoming hand.
"Anyways, I had to see you before the final match started. I mean I guess didn't, I just wanted to." The elder twin said, the Hyuuga heiress looking at her confusedly. "About what you said to my sister and me, thank you… and I'd like it very much if we could see the memorial." Nerissa said, nodding as if to confirm her answer with herself.
Nodding once, Hinata replied, "Okay, I'll tell the guards to expect you some time around… Friday good?" A nod in the affirmative was her answer. The elder opened her mouth to continue the conversation when a loud cry of "Onee-chan, I told you to stay in your bed. The medic-nin may have cleared you, but I'm not letting you out of my sight if you're going to act like the younger sister!" Ferissa shouted, her hands her hips as she glared defiantly at her 'older' sister.
"Now come here so we can go back down to the infirmary." Ferissa ordered, punctuating the order with a single foot step and pointing at the ground under her feet.
"Why don't you come over here and make me." Nerissa said teasingly, standing close to the edge deliberately.
Ferissa looked conflicted, noticing her sister's position. "That's not fair Onee-chan, you know I hate heights, I don't bring mice into the house, so don't try and use my fear against me or I'm going to leave cheese in your room again! Now come here, right now!" The younger twin ordered again, and Nerissa pouted as she begrudgingly stalked to her sister's side, following the girl down the stairs.
"Well, that was interesting." Naruto commented, and Hinata nodded, leaning forwards on her knees as she recalled why the twins were making an appointment to stop by her clan compound.
*Flashback*
"We have something to speak about." Hinata said, pulling the curtains closed behind her.
"Then speak, things don't just pause just because you want them to Princess." Nerissa shot before wincing as Ferissa helped her lean back on her bed. Once she was comfortable, both girls turned to look at the shy heiress, who was pushing her index fingers together.
"I don't really know how to say this, but umm…" Hinata mumbled before put her hands together and bowing to the floor. Both the girls gave a sharp intake of air, not expecting this from a clan heiress.
"I'm sorry that your parents died." The bluenette apologized, only to hear a loud growl by one of them, most likely Ferissa since she seemed to be the more spirited one of the pair.
"They didn't die; they were killed by that devil Fox! And why, they never did anything wrong, they didn't deserve that!" Ferissa shouted, and Hinata winced although neither girl saw that. "And don't you say a single thing about them, they were innocent civilians, they had no part in your fight with that demon!" Ferissa continued, pointing an accusing finger at Hinata who bit her lip, fighting back the tears. The way she said 'you' was like she personally blamed Hinata for the entire attack.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry you lost both of your parents like that!" Hinata cried, the tears refusing to be held back any longer as she kept her head down, her face burning as the liquid poured. "I'm sorry that I got to know both of my parents, even if my mother is gone now." Hinata apologized again, repeating 'I'm so sorry.' over and over.
"If you think crying will fix anything, then you can leave now!" Ferissa yelled, and started again when a hand softly touched her arm. Turning she saw Nerissa's level expression; her sister could see the hurt in her eyes talking about their parents, but she didn't seem to share the anger Ferissa held for the clan heiress.
"You don't have to apologize Hinata, even though we both appreciate your apology, the blame lays with the Fox not you. You were only a child at the time; you can't be blamed for the pain of losing our parents, despite my sister's words." Nerissa said evenly, and finally Hinata looked up.
"But it is my fault! Your parents died saving a young woman who was pregnant at the time. That was my mother, she was pregnant with me!" Hinata sobbed, furiously swiping at her eyes with her sleeves. The twin started; their eyes hardening as they looked at the bluenette with a new light.
"My mother used to tell me the story of the kind people that saved her life on that night. How your father and your mother found her trapped in a room, and refused to leave her to die! Not because she was pregnant, or because she was a clan wife, but because their little girls didn't deserve cowards for parents. And then…" Hinata gulped, looking hesitantly at the girls who were watching her closely, despite the thick line of tears rolling down their faces.
"G-Go on." Nerissa said; choking on the words as Hinata gave a small nod.
"How your father held up the burning rafters when they tried to collapse, and how your mother used her clothes so my mom could breathe, and then refused to rest before heading back to try and help your father. And how, the building-" Hinata's words were cut off by a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Looking up, Hinata's watery eyes met Nerissa's pleading eyes. "Please stop, we've heard enough." Behind the injured girl, Hinata could see Ferissa refusing to meet her eyes, and that her knuckles were chalky white from being clenched so tight. "Regardless of what happened, I don't know how you can hold yourself accountable." The elder sister said, and Hinata looked at her sadly.
"I don't know how you can not hate me." She mumbled, and was shocked when Nerissa grabbed her, hauling her to her feet with an angry expression.
"Would you rather we did hate you?!" She shouted, and Ferissa started, rushing to her side as she began to cough.
"No, I'd rather your parents had left my mother behind! I'd rather your parents had been selfish people that wouldn't sacrifice themselves to help someone when they had two little girls at home! I'd rather-" She was cut off by the resounding sound of Ferissa's hand hitting her cheek, rage evident on her face despite the waterfall of tears.
"Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP! I've already told you that if all you're going to do is cry and try to fix something that can't be changed then you can leave NOW! I don't care what Nerissa-nee-chan says, she's hurt and this stress is not helping!" Ferissa screamed at the teary-bluenette, who despite her instincts, stayed rooted to the floor.
"I'm sorry. You're right, I'll drop it. I just wanted to tell you, my mother had a small memorial built in her personal garden in my clan's compound if you'd like to see it." With that, Hinata turned and left, refusing to let her shaking frame be seen as she made her way back to her safe place, utilizing both her kunoichi and Hyuuga training to lock these feelings away.
*Flashback End*
"Yes, it was, but I'm actually looking forwards to getting to see them. I didn't have many friends growing up due to my position. It will be nice to show people around my clan compound simply because I want to and not because I was ordered." Hinata said hopefully. She gave a small squeal when Naruto pushed her over, tickling her side as she began to giggle, begging him to let her go.
"Nope, I'm never letting you go, Hina-chan. Just consider this punishment for not wanting to show me around your home." Naruto said, and Hinata blushed before smirking as she steeled her nerves.
"It is that your way of asking to visit my room? How forward of you, what shall I do against these beastly urges?" The heiress said deplorably, shaking her head. However, Naruto went a shade of red to rival his paramour's famous blush, causing the bluenette to giggle behind her hand.
Kiba paced the floor nervously, Shino was preoccupied with his father in the adjacent bed, the privacy curtains pulled for the moment, and Kurenai had left to get a cup of coffee, which Kiba could smell from several hallways away, and so it was Akamaru who first noticed the Yamanaka reanimate as he stood, stretching out his limbs from his rigid sitting position. Thusly, the ninja dog alerted his partner to it.
"So…" Kiba asked expectantly, although the man ignored the younger shinobi.
"You wouldn't understand most of what I would tell you, so how about we wait for your sensei to get back, she shouldn't be long." The man said, letting one arm hang limply at his side while the other twisted a strand of his platinum blonde hair.
Kiba started to argue with the blonde when Akamaru nudged him barking as Kurenai came up behind the short-tempered Inuzuka, a trait that ran in the family. "Hey Kurenai-sensei, it's a good thing you came back because I was about to make this guy tell me what's wrong with Sakura-chan!" Kiba said loudly, and a passing medic-nin scowled at him. "Sorry." He whispered back, bowing quickly to ask for forgiveness, the medic-nin rolled her eyes, walking off.
"So, Yamanaka-san, can you tell us what's wrong with my student?" Kurenai asked, and the Yamanaka nodded, crossing his arms.
"Yes, but perhaps you'd like to wait for your other student? I believe he will be finished soon." True to his word, the privacy curtain was pulled away seconds later as Shibi simply nodded towards Kurenai, walking in silence.
"Well, now that we're all available, can we get on with this, Yamanaka-san?" Kiba said irritably, and the Yamanaka sighed.
"My name is Saijin, although I'd prefer you'd not call me by my given or surname. Doctor will suffice if you must speak." Saijin retorted evenly, reminding Kurenai of her bug-loving student. She wondered idlely if he was a misplaced baby, he could've simply bleached his hair.
"And I am a pure-blooded Yamanaka, not related to the isolationist Aburame, Jounin Yuuhi." Saijin said deploringly. "Although I will admit I prefer their 'company' over my own clan." He added, Kurenai missing the fleeting smile due to her blush at being caught red-handed.
"As interesting as this all is, can we get back to Sakura-chan, Ya…Doctor-san?" Kiba groused and after a deadpan glare from the blonde, he began to speak.
"Genin Haruno is suffering a psychotic break, most likely as a result of some intense mentally jarring event." Seeing the clueless looks, he sighed once more, "More simply put, some crucial part of her character was broken. Currently, she's become withdrawn which you can see, and doesn't respond to external stimuli. Hmm, actually, she responds, just not in any external way. Her brain still functions, and processes all the information her body would normally receive from the world around her, she just can't respond." He said, and growled at the clueless looks on the trio's faces. Kurenai understood what he was saying better than the two males, but she didn't really understand what he was saying very accurately.
"Could you make a comparison to help?" Kurenai asked hesitantly, not wanting to upset the doctor. Even if it was his job, she understood what it was like to be trying to explain something that you considered simple that might as well be the functionality and work that the Fourth's Flying Thunder God Jutsu involved.
"I suppose so… Genin Aburame, would you mind if I use you for this example?" Saijin asked, receiving only the raising of a single eyebrow from the aforementioned Genin. Apparently this was enough as the Yamanaka walked over to his bedside.
"The Aburame use bugs in battle, these bugs in turn use the Aburame's bodies as living hives, so to speak. It would be like bugs going into, Shino was it?" Receiving the nod of ascent, he continued, "Bugs going into young Shino-san's body but never doing anything, just sitting there living and dying without ever doing a single thing because Shino-san's body refused to perform its basic purpose. Haruno-san is essentially trapped inside her own mind unable to get out… yet." He said; walking back to Sakura's bedside.
"As I mentioned, the problem is her character, it's damaged right now, and by that I mean, some fundamental part of her was disproved. It would akin to an Inuzuka being raised with his ninken partner, being together for years and then the 'dog' either died or turned and attacked his partner. You understand, Inuzuka-san?" He didn't need to look at the young male to know that he nodded in the ascent.
"Now, young Haruno-san is lucky in the fact that, unlike when an Inuzuka loses his or her ninken partner, she can get a replacement, once again, so to speak. She will in time, begin to 'reawaken' to the world around herself. Umm, simply put, she's comatose right now, and for I don't know how long, until she can find something to replace the part of her psychosis that was broken." Saijin said, 'hmm'ing a lot as he tried to work through the diagnosis in terms Team 8 could understand.
"And now, it's your turn, Jounin Yuuhi-san. I recently visited a Genin injured in the preliminaries, a Rock Lee. The chances of him ever resuming his shinobi career are astronomical without considering the fact that he will never regain the use of his arm. If he possessed the ability to channel chakra, he may have a potential career in a different branch of the shinobi corps." Saijin started only for Kiba to interrupt.
"What does this have to do with Sakura or Kurenai-sensei?" The impressionable Inuzuka questioned.
"I'm getting there." Saijin responded, not missing a beat a she launched back into his explanation.
"Being a shinobi was an essential part of Genin Lee's psychosis, so when I explained that he could no longer be a shinobi, this is something akin to what I expected, however, as I believe you saw, he was here today as if nothing is amiss. In fact he had one of the fastest recovery times I've ever seen. However, as you saw the result was an exception to what is expected in these situations. What you might expect if this were to befall Yuuhi-san would be her giving up on Genjutsu entirely as a waste of time and emulate Rock Lee or his sensei, devoting her entire being to Taijutsu and wearing a skintight green jumpsuit. What I'm saying is, the Haruno you knew, will almost certainly not be the one that frees herself from this nightmare she's entrapped inside." Saijin explained, his hands finding their ways to the pockets of his coat. Tossing his head back as he pulled his coat tighter around him, he started to leave.
"Wait, Doctor-san, what kind of changes can we expect?" Shino asked, surprising both his sensei and teammate.
"It depends entirely on how crucial the part that was broken was to her id. Using my earlier example, depending on how long the relationship between Inuzuka-san and his ninken was allowed to develop he may be unable to recreate his clan jutsu or he may develop cynophobia, or the intense fear of dogs, something that would debilitating for a clan so involved with dogs. Occasionally I've seen those that also suffered physical changes, although most are fixable with therapy which she would go through anyways." He said, once again turning to leave only for Kiba to be the one to stop him this time.
"What kind of physical changes like? Like she could turn a different color or grow, I don't know, gills?" He asked worriedly, and Saijin laughed for the first time, shaking his head.
"No no, nothing that extreme, although I've personally ministered to a woman whose hair changed to a most brilliant shade of violet. I shan't tell you her name for confidentiality issues, but that has been the most shocking change. Back on the subject, she may change dominant hands, be unable to hear, or even become mute. But all are fixable with varying degrees of trauma therapy." With that, he walked away his face returned to its even and expressionless business mask. However as he reached the door, he turned back, "Oh, I just remembered, I had a patient one time that reported an increase in body hair, we never did fix that one either. Last I saw her; she looked much like your puppy." He turned and left laughing at Kiba's thunderstruck expression.
Once he was assured that the doctor was gone however, Kiba looked at his female teammate with a saddened expression.
"I promise you Sakura, I will avenge you and make that Uchiha prick pay! I won't let something like this happen to you ever again, not you, Shino, or Kurenai-sensei. I am an Alpha dog, and Alphas protect their pack!" Kiba mentally shouted as his fist tightening as he fell into the seat between Shino's and Sakura's beds.
Kurenai started to follow his example when a soft knocking on the open door caught her attention. Turning, she caught sight of the Hokage's son, Asuma with a small square object covered in a velvet cloth in hand.
"Yes, can we help you?" She asked; she had no time for another drawn out confession by some guy, even if the guy was her fellow Jounin that Anko teased her about. "I think I'd know how I felt about a guy." She assured herself mentally.
"Ahh yes, I visited my dad's office and brought this, so all the kids still stuck in this depressing place can watch the final fight. Figured it lighten the place up, help them forget about losing." Asuma explained, pulling cover off the globe which A) Rested on a pillow like a giant pearl, and B) Was in no way square or cuboid.
"Okay, so long as it's quiet and doesn't disturb anyone." Kurenai said; the Jounin pair sitting on the couch, neither one commenting on the electric feeling that ran through them as their hands brushed. With a small amount of chakra, the picture was projected upwards into the air for all to see as people began sitting up in their ward beds, excited at getting to see at least one of the fights, and the Finale at that.