Quake

Chapter Nine

-Attempt-

When Naruto awoke the next morning he saw his wife and smiled. Exhaustion was evident on her face, and he felt guilty for leaving her to deal with Sakura and Gaara. He began to stroke her face, waking her up in the process.

Seeing her sad eyes, he frowned. "How is everybody?" he asked, a little afraid of the answer.

Hinata let out a sad sigh. "Sakura is staying in the guest room, and hasn't moved from the windowsill since she got here. Gaara is at the hotel laying in his bed and facing the wall, while the girls try and comfort him. I didn't see Toshiro yesterday, so I don't know how he's doing."

Before he could ask more questions, their bedroom door opened slowly. Seeing that her parents were awake, Minako ran into the room and jumped on the bed, crawling between them. "Hey sweetie." Naruto said, stroking his daughter's hair.

"Morning daddy." She said sleepily. Then she turned to her mom. "Mommy? Can I go see Shiro-kun? I want to see if he's okay."

"I don't know honey, they might not want to see anyone today." Hinata said hesitantly. After the reaction she had gotten yesterday, she didn't know how her daughter would be received.

"Let her go sweetheart. Maybe Toshiro needs a friend right now." Naruto said.

"Alright." Hinata agreed. "But you need to get a bath first."

"Yes ma'am." Minako said, getting out of bed and going to get ready.

About an hour later, Minako made her way up the stairs of the hotel her friends were staying in. She knocked on the door, and stood back, swaying back and forth nervously.

The door opened a fraction of an inch and an angry jade eye stared out at the girl. "What do you want?" Satomi spat out.

"Um…I was wondering if Shiro-kun was here." She said poking her fingers together the way her mother used to do.

"He's not here. I don't know where he is." She said and then slammed the door in the girl's face.

Undeterred, Minako left and began to walk around the village. She came upon the playground, and saw him sitting on the same swing that she had occupied a few days before. She walked up to him. "Hi Shiro-kun." She said softly, unsure of what kind of mood he was in. Hopefully a better one than Satomi was.

He glanced at her and then focused back on a distant tree that seemed so fascinating. "Hey."

"Do you want to go get some ice cream or something? Ramen makes my daddy feel better when he's sad, but I don't think you like ramen." She suggested, wanting to help.

"My mom says ramen isn't a real meal and that it isn't healthy to eat." He said simply, his vacant stare not changing. He slowly started to swing, gripping the chains tightly. "And no thanks…I don't want ice cream."

She frowned, trying to think of something else that would help him feel better. Then her face lit up with a smile as she was struck with an idea. "What about a hug? Hugs always make me feel better when I'm sad."

He stopped swinging and stared at her. "A hug? Why would that make anything better? That only works for girls." He said darkly. He had never needed to be cheered up before. His life was perfect. Nothing bad ever happened to him but this…his own mother didn't want anything to do with him anymore.

"Well you don't know unless you try Shiro-kun. If you don't think a hug will make you feel better then would you like to talk about it? Didn't you say that your mom told you talking about your feelings makes you feel better?" she asked, trying to remember what he had told her when she needed cheering up.

His grip tightened threateningly, his knuckles started to turn white. "I followed my parents and yours into the forest…and they were attacked and when I tried to protect my mom…I…" he stopped, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "I wasn't able to do anything and I caused my brother to die…and now my parents won't speak to each other and my mom won't come home because she's so ashamed of me." He said, shutting his eyes tightly to try and keep the tears from falling. He felt awful, his brother was dead because of him, his mother hated him, and his father was now lifeless and wouldn't even spare him a glance. He had destroyed his family forever.

Sadness filled Minako's eyes then as Toshiro told her what was wrong. On impulse she went up and hugged him around the shoulders. "It's not your fault Shiro-kun! I bet they know it was an accident. My daddy says that people grieve in different ways, so I'm sure before no time your parents will be back to talking to each other. Some things you just have to let work themselves out." She said in a moment of wisdom.

Anger took over his sadness, and he stood up and pushed Minako away from him, causing her to fall backwards and hit the ground. "Will you be quiet?! You have no idea what this is like! My brother is dead because of me! My parents act like they hate each other! And it's all my fault!" he screamed, his sand crawling towards her menacingly. "So don't you try and tell me everything will work itself out, because it won't! Nothing will ever be okay ever again! I've wrecked my family! So just SHUT UP!" he glared and then stormed away before he could do anything more. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but she just didn't understand!

Tears streamed down her face as she watched him leave. Once he was out of sight, she lifted her hands to look at them. Her palms were cut and bleeding slightly from the gravel at the park. She stood slowly then, and dusted herself off with the back of her hands, not wanting to irritate them further.

Still crying, she decided that she wanted nothing more than to go home. With those thoughts in mind, she began to run out of the park, only to collide with another person, causing her to stumble backwards. Before she could hit the ground again, hands caught her. She looked up in surprise, only to be met with forest green eyes.

"Minako? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Akito asked, concern evident on his face. He went to grab her hand to hold it reassuringly, but stopped when he saw her flinch. He flipped her hands over and, seeing the scrapes, grew angry.

"Who did this to you?!" he asked.

She sniffed in response. "N-nobody Akito-kun. I f-fell." She said, not wanting to get Toshiro in trouble. She knew he didn't mean it and that it was an accident.

"Don't lie to me Minako. I'm your best friend, so tell me what happened." He said, giving her a small glare.

She knew he was right, and therefore, told him everything she knew about what had happened to her aunt and her family. When she got to the part about Toshiro, Akito's gaze hardened. "Tell me if he ever hurts you again." he said, a murderous glint to his eyes. He would kill anyone who hurt his best friend, no matter who they were.

She nodded dumbly, not really paying attention. Akito walked her home then, wanting her to be safe. When she went upstairs towards her room, she was met with her father.

Today had not been a good day. Naruto had gone to check on Sakura when he'd gotten up, only to find her sitting in the windowsill and staring out at the village. She didn't speak to him at all. Heck, she didn't even acknowledge his presence. From what he could tell, she had only moved to change out of his pajamas and into her own clothes.

Then he had to go to work and send a letter to Temari in Suna, informing her of what had happened. He had also made arrangements for a funeral to be held in Konoha, and another one in Suna at the same time. He knew his friends wouldn't be able to handle it, so he had taken care of all the arrangements for them.

Deciding that he wouldn't be able to get anything else done, he had come home looking for Hinata. She was attending the annual clan meeting, so he wouldn't see her until later that evening. When he felt his daughter's chakra enter the house, his mood had lifted. Maybe they could go get some ramen for lunch. She loved the food after all, and he hadn't been to Ichiraku's in over a day.

But when he came down the stairs and was met with red-rimmed blue eyes and a tear-stained face, his mood vanished. He went over to her and knelt down so he could see her face more clearly. He grabbed her hands to get her attention, but froze when he heard her suck in a sharp breath. Turning her hands over, he looked back up to her face. "Minako, sweetie, what happened?" he asked, concerned.

"It was nothing daddy. I fell is all." She said, voice trembling.

Now Naruto wasn't stupid. He may be a goof and act like an idiot most of the time, but he wasn't stupid. He knew his daughter, and who she had gone to visit earlier that day. The only explanation was that she had tried to make Toshiro feel better, and, being the unappreciative emotional child that he was, had pushed his daughter. He knew that kid was going to have anger management problems and be violent. He just knew it. But now was not the time to bask in his being correct.

"Sweetheart, I know you're trying to protect Toshiro, but you need to tell me what's wrong. If you don't then I can't fix it." He said softly, giving her a tender look.

She burst into tears then, and told him everything. How Satomi had been in a worse mood than usual, and how Toshiro thought the whole thing was his fault and that he had ruined his family. This knowledge made Naruto angry. He could only put up with his friends' bull for so long, and they had already used up his time.

He left in a flash, telling his daughter to clean her hands as soon as possible, so that they wouldn't get infected. Arriving at the hotel his friends were staying at, he kicked down the door and went straight into the master bedroom.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Satomi demanded, running up and blocking the doorway.

Angry red eyes met hers then, and she shrunk back at the snarl Naruto sent her way. He went straight to the bed, and snorted in disgust at what he saw. Gaara was still lying there like a zombie, completely ignoring his children. He walked over and grabbed the lifeless redhead by the wrist and dragged him out of bed.

"Put my daddy down! Now!" Natsumi yelled, standing so that she could protect her father, her sand already making its way towards Naruto.

Naruto turned to her and said in a gruff voice, "You'll understand someday kid that sometimes, a friend is the one who knows what's best for you." And then he left in a flash, not wanting Gaara's kids to attack him. If it came down to it he might hurt them in the state he was in, and neither he nor his friends would forgive him if he hurt the girls.

They arrived in front of the door to Sakura's room, and without a knock, Naruto kicked that door in too. Locking gazes with a shocked Sakura, he threw Gaara into the room.

"You two are such idiots! You need to stop wallowing in your self-pity and just talk to each other. You have three beautiful, alive children that need you right now. And what are you doing?! You're neglecting them. You two are failing as parents, and if you keep this up, your kids will never forget it." He said walking back to the door. He turned to face them again.

"And don't come out of this room until you two have talked this over. If you do I'll…I'll…well, you don't want to know what I'll do, because it won't be pretty. Even I don't know what it will be, that's how awful it is. So just talk. When I see you two again, you better be a couple." With that, he shut the door.

They had been sitting there in silence for what felt like hours, when in reality it had only been two minutes. Deciding that she didn't want to hear the words she knew he would say, she looked over at her husband and decided to save him the trouble.

"You don't have to say it. I understand." She said softly.

He stared at her, a confused look washing over his face. "Why didn't you come home last night?"

Her brow scrunched in confusion. "Because…you don't want me anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Now he was angry. "Why in the world would I not want you? You're my wife. I've needed you there for ten years."

She turned and faced him fully, pointing to herself for emphasis. "I killed him Gaara! I couldn't protect our son! It's my fault because I'm not strong enough! Why would you want someone who can't protect their children?!" she wailed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"That's why you didn't come home?!" he glared, raising his voice now. "Because you think this is your fault? Why would you ever think that Sakura?! I'm your husband! I'm supposed to protect you and I left you. Because I was angry I left your side. This is my fault because I couldn't protect the one person I swore to protect. You were carrying my child and I left your side...this is my fault..." he repeated, looking away from her now. He knew she would blame him now, for being so weak.

Instead she ran over to him and hugged him fiercely, burying her face in his neck. "It's not your fault Gaara…how could you know that we were going to get attacked?" she asked, then pulled away so she could stroke his cheek comfortingly. "I just…I wasn't strong enough to protect both myself and Toshiro…" she trailed off, eyes beginning to water again. "I thought that you wouldn't want me to come near our children because I had failed them as a mother…and that you wouldn't want me because I had failed you as a wife." She said, voice trembling. Now that he knew the truth he would change his mind. It made sense to blame her…she was the weaker of the two.

Gaara pulled her tightly against his chest, "You're a wonderful mother Sakura. There was no way that you could have handled that differently. You did your best…the most important thing is that you and Toshiro are alright." He shut his eyes and buried his face in her hair. "And how could you do something like that to our children, leaving them with only a psycho father."

She chuckled at his statement and nuzzled his neck. "I'm sorry I left you. I promise I won't do it again."

"I know," he whispered, kissing head lovingly. "Please just don't ever do it again. No matter what, I can't be without you."

"I promise." She said, kissing his cheek. "Just don't ever let me go."

After she washed her hands off, Minako decided to go find Natsumi and Satomi and try to cheer them up. She went over to the hotel, and when she saw that the door was kicked in, she ran inside, worried about her friends.

"Natsumi-chan?! Satomi-chan?!" she yelled frantically.

Natsumi was sitting on the couch sobbing, while Satomi was trying to comfort her. The older twin looked at Minako and sighed, "What?"

"What happened?" she asked, running over to her friends.

"Your psycho dad came and took our daddy away." Satomi glared. Natsumi was unresponsive, but her sobbing slowly died and there were silent tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Oh. I wouldn't worry then, he's probably getting your mom and dad back together. He was really angry when he found out about that." Minako said, hiding her hands behind her back so her friends wouldn't see.

"Oh," they both said together.

"Well what do you want?" Satomi asked.

"Well, I wanted to show you and Natsumi-chan this really cool place I found right outside the village. I thought it would cheer you guys up a bit." She said, rocking back and forth nervously.

They both blinked, all sadness gone from their faces for just a moment. "What is it?" they questioned.

"Well you'll just have to see it. It's a really cool field with all these pretty wild flowers, and if you make a certain noise, the flowers move and all these beautiful butterflies appear!" Minako said enthusiastically, throwing her arms up in the air for emphasis.

Both their eyes went wide, "What are butterflies?" Natsumi asked excitedly. Satomi's expression mirrored her sister's, but she said nothing.

Minako's eyes widened in shock. "You've never seen a butterfly before?!" At the twins' negative shake of their heads she continued. "They are like flowers that can fly! They have really pretty wings and are so cute! And they come in all kinds of colors." She explained excitedly.

"We want to see!" they demanded, jumping down from the couch and smiling brightly.

Minako led them through the village, until they came upon an alleyway. Reaching the end, she moved a crate, revealing a small hole that only a child could fit through. Once everyone had crawled through, they snuck into the forest. After walking for about five minutes, they came upon a clearing full of beautiful wildflowers. "We're here." Minako said with a bright smile, turning to face her friends.

"Such pretty flowers," Natsumi gaped, a bright smile forming on her face.

"I've never seen so many colors before." Satomi looked around, touching one of the red flowers delicately. "So where are the butterflies?" she glanced over at the dark haired girl then.

Minako smiled at her friend. Then she brought her hands up and cupped her face. Taking a deep breath, she let out a squawk similar to that of a bird. Suddenly all of the flowers began to move, and then a huge mass of butterflies flew off and into the air, a multitude of colors.

"They fly away when they think a bird is coming, because they don't want to be like sitting ducks." Minako explained, watching the butterflies fly up into the air.

"Wow!" Natsumi yelled, running out into the field and dancing around with the fluttering butterflies. "They are so beautiful!" she giggled, trying to catch a blue one.

Satomi walked forward, completely amazed. A bright yellow butterfly made its way towards her and decided to land straight on her nose. She blinked and smiled, making the beautiful insect take off and join the others.

Minako laughed at her friend's antics. The smile vanished from her face when she felt a sinister presence, but before she could make anything known, four men came out of the trees and landed on the other end of the field. "Well, well, well." One said with a devious smirk. Both Natsumi and Satomi froze. "Who would have thought the daughters of the Kazekage of Suna would be out playing all by themselves."

Natsumi, who was the closest to the ninja, glared hatefully. She looked at their headbands, noting that the symbol matched that of the waterfall country. "My daddy is close by," she told them.

But Satomi looked worried. Her sister was within easy grasp, and after their recent loss she just wouldn't be able to handle it. The leader of the group glanced at the other three with him. "All we need to do is find out which one is which. Water jutsu on the sand user and seals on the other, we don't need that strength turning against us." They nodded and spread out, the middle of the three dashing for Natsumi. Her sand rose instantly, in order to defend its small user. The man smirked and began forming hand signs.

"NATSUMI!" Satomi screamed, running forward to save her sister. One of the shinobi appeared before her and slammed his fist into her stomach. She was out cold in an instant. The waterfall ninja picked her up and held her over his shoulder.

"I think this is the one with the strength, I'll put the seals on her." He said loudly, pulling out sutras and setting them on the girl. Natsumi looked back at her sister for a moment, but this was what caused everything to go wrong. Before she could even react, she was doused with water. She slowed and gasped loudly, watching her pale skin darken ever so slightly from the wet sand. She tried to send her sand after the man with Satomi, but it only crawled sluggishly on the ground.

One of the men landed beside her and sent his knee up into her stomach, successfully knocking her out as well. The big guy hauled Natsumi into his arms, and began to walk away. Yelling out in a rage, Minako ran towards him and hit his leg with her gentle fist. But it wasn't strong enough to stop him, only to make him pause.

He turned and looked down at her, sneering in contempt. "What do you want us to do about this one?" he asked, his voice malicious.

"Just leave her. We only need the pink ones." Another man said, checking the area. "Now let's go before we get caught."

As the group began to move towards the trees, Minako picked up a rock and flung it at the big man, hitting him square in the back of the head. "Ow!" he exclaimed, turning around suddenly. Seeing her standing there with a determined look on her face, he grinned. Then he drew back his hand and hit her across her cheek, sending her flying into a tree.

By the time she came back around, the men were gone. Crying hysterically, she ran home. Entering the house she ran upstairs and found her father with his ear pressed against Sakura's bedroom door. She ran up to him then, sputtering.

Surprised to find his daughter in tears once again, Naruto turned and held her close. Pulling away from her, his eyes immediately looked at the large bruise forming on her right cheek.

"WHO THE HELL TOUCHED YOU?!" he yelled, eyes turning red in anger.

Hearing the outburst, the bedroom door was opened and Gaara and Sakura poked their heads out, only to hear Minako cry, "Natsumi-chan and Satomi-chan were kidnapped by bad people!"

Gaara froze. His blood felt cold and thick in his veins. "WHAT?!" he screamed, coming out of the room and glaring down at Minako. "How could this have happened?!"

Minako's watery blue eyes looked up at the angry redhead. "W-well…I wanted to make them feel better…s-so I took them to go see the butterfly flowers." She stuttered, trying to remain coherent.

"You took them outside the village?" Naruto asked, not believing that his brilliant daughter had done something so foolish in their time of war. Well…almost not believing. She was his daughter after all.

"I just wanted to make them smile since I couldn't for Shiro-kun! And they had never seen butterflies before, so I thought I would show them." She defended, and then looked at the ground in shame.

"But then the bad men from Waterfall came out of the woods and attacked us before we could do anything. They hit Satomi-chan, and splashed Natsumi-chan with water before hitting her too. I tried to stop them daddy, really I did. But the big man was too big!" she said, beginning to cry again.

Naruto took his daughter into his arms then and lifted her up, stroking the back of her head to try and comfort her. He looked over at his friends. "Get whatever supplies you need and meet me at the gates in ten minutes. I'm going to drop her off at the Hyuuga Compound and put together a team to go with you, just in case."

Sakura nodded and placed her hand in her husband's, allowing for them to be taken away to their hotel in order to get their respective weapons.